US postwar death toll tops wartime fatalities

THE US military death toll in Iraq since major combat was declared over has surpassed the number killed during the war.

The killing of two soldiers, blown up in their Abrams main battle tank near Baghdad, took the number of fatalities to 117 since President George W Bush declared an end to major fighting on May 1. A total of 114 US soldiers died in the war , which began on March 20. In Baghdad, the average number of anti-US attacks has reached 33 a day in the past week. This is more than a 50% increase over levels of early September. By mid-October that number had reached about 26 a day.

Two US soldiers were killed when their Abrams battle tank was damaged by resistance fighters, US officials said. In a separate attack, seven Ukrainian troops were wounded in the first ambush on a multi-national unit in the Polish sector south of Baghdad The Abrams tank was disabled when it was struck by a land mine or a roadside bomb on Tuesday night during a patrol near Balad, 45 miles north of Baghdad, said Maj Josslyn Aberle, a spokeswoman for the 4th Infantry Division. A third crewman was evacuated to a US hospital in Germany, she said.

It was believed to be the first M1 Abrams main battle tank destroyed since the end of major combat May 1. During the active combat phase, several of the 68-ton vehicles the mainstay of the American Army's armoured forces were disabled in combat.

The latest attacks, including a night time mortar barrage in Baghdad, followed a day of violence in which insurgents targeted US forces and Iraqis who work with the occupation authorities. US officials also announced that Baghdad's deputy mayor Faris Abdul Razzaq al-Assam was killed Sunday in a drive-by shooting.

Yesterday, Baghdad police commander Maj Gen, Hassan al-Obeid, announced new measures including additional 24-hour checkpoints and patrols, to heighten security in the capital, according to coalition-run Iraqi television. Meanwhile, in Baghdad, half a dozen mortar rounds exploded late on Tuesday in a Jadriya neighbourhood across the Tigris River from the US-led coalition headquarters but caused no damage or casualties. In Tikrit insurgents fired late on Tuesday on the south gate at the main American military base. At least one American soldier from the 4th Infantry Division was wounded, witnesses said.