Iraqi civilian death toll down 36%

Iraqi civilian deaths dropped to their lowest level since the start of the Baghdad security operation, government figures showed, suggesting signs of progress in tamping down violence in the capital.

But American casualties are running high as US forces step up pressure on Sunni and Shiite extremists in and around Baghdad.

At least 1,227 Iraqi civilians were killed in June along with 190 policemen and 31 soldiers, an officer at the Iraqi Interior Ministry’s operations room said.

That represented a 36% drop from the ministry’s May figures - 1,949 civilian deaths along with 127 policemen and 47 soldiers.

June’s figures were the lowest monthly tally this year. In January, President Bush ordered nearly 30,000 soldiers, Marines and airmen to Iraq in a major push to stabilise the capital so that Iraq’s leaders can hammer out power-sharing agreements for a lasting peace.

The Baghdad security operation was launched in mid-February, although the last of the American reinforcements arrived in Iraq only last month.

The accuracy of civilian death figures in Iraq has been in doubt since the start of the conflict and may reflect only a portion of the casualties nationwide.

Still, the figures suggest a downward trend, which may be due to US military pressure on insurgents in Baghdad and the surrounding areas.

The commander of US forces in Baghdad, Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil, told reporters on Friday that American and Iraqi security forces now controlled nearly half of the 474 neighbourhoods in Baghdad – up from 19% in April.