The death of six military personnel on Tuesday made 2007 the deadliest year for American troops since the start of the war in Iraq, The Washington Post reported.
The record death toll of at least 852 US military personnel killed this year underscores the high cost of the American troop increase, launched in February, which has begun to drive down the sectarian violence that once gripped much of the country, the paper reported.
However, the report also said that the grim milestone belied a more optimistic trend: Troop fatalities have declined sharply since early summer. In October, the death toll for U.S. troops fell to 38, its lowest level since March 2006, quoting icasualties.org, a Web site that tracks military fatalities.
The toll was higher than the 849 killed in 2004, when most of the fatalities came during large-scale conventional battles, the Post said quoting icasualties.org figures.
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