US military draths in Iraq pass 1,000

US military deaths in the Iraq campaign passed 1,000 as clashes with both Sunni and Shiite militants killed seven Americans in the Baghdad area.

The count includes 998 US troops and three civilian contractors killed while working for the Pentagon.

The tally was compiled by the Associated Press based on Pentagon records, AP reporting from Iraq, and reports from soldiers’ families.

The US military has not reported overall Iraqi deaths. The Iraqi Health Ministry started counting the dead only in April when heavy fighting broke out in Fallujah and Najaf. However, conservative estimates by private groups place the Iraqi toll at at least 10,000 – or 10 times the number of US military deaths.

“It is difficult to establish the right number of casualties,” said London-based Amnesty International’s Middle East spokeswoman, Nicole Choueiry. She added that “it was the job of the occupation power to keep track of the numbers but the Americans failed to do so”.

US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld cited progress on multiple fronts in the Bush administration’s global war on terrorism and said US enemies should not underestimate the willingness of the American people and its coalition allies to suffer casualties in Iraq and elsewhere.

“The progress has prompted a backlash, in effect, from those who hope that at some point we might conclude that the pain and the cost of this fight isn’t worth it,” Rumsfeld told a Pentagon press conference in Washington.

“Well, our enemies have underestimated our country, our coalition. They have failed to understand the character of our people. And they certainly misread our commander in chief.”

The Bush administration has long linked the Iraq conflict to the war on terrorism. The September 11 Commission, however, concluded that Iraq and al-Qaida did not have a ”collaborative relationship” before the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, and some have questioned to what extent foreign terror groups are involved in the anti-US uprising in Iraq.

Democratic presidential candidate Senator John Kerry issued a statement saying the United States joined the friends and families of those who died in mourning their loss.

“Today marks a tragic milestone in the war in Iraq. More than one thousand of Americas sons and daughters have made the ultimate sacrifice. Our nation honours their service and joins with their families and loved ones in mourning their loss,” Kerry said.

“We must never forget the price they have paid. And we must meet our sacred obligation to all our troops to do all we can to make the right decisions in Iraq so that we can bring them home as soon as possible.”

The 1,003 figure includes deaths from hostile and non-hostile causes since the United States launched the Iraq campaign in March 2003 to topple Saddam’s regime. The vast majority of US deaths – all but 138 – came after Bush’s May 1, 2003 declaration of an end to major combat operations. “Mission Accomplished,” read a banner on an aircraft carrier where Bush made the announcement.

The grim milestone of 1,000 American military deaths was surpassed after a surge in fighting, which has killed 16 US service members in the past two days. Two soldiers died in clashes yesterday with militiamen loyal to rebel Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Five other Americans died on the same day in separate attacks, mostly in the Baghdad area. Seven marines were killed on Monday in a suicide car bombing north of Fallujah. Two soldiers were killed in a mortar attack on Sunday.