Troops deaths in Iraq, Afghanistan at lowest - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Troops deaths in Iraq, Afghanistan at lowest

BAGHDAD — As 2008 ends, U.S. troop deaths for the year in Iraq and Afghanistan are the lowest combined total since the Iraq war began in 2003.

Still, Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, warns against complacency as the Americans hand off security to Iraqi forces and more U.S. forces head to Afghanistan.

“In military terms, transitions are always the most dangerous,” he said. “We’re trying to make sure we don’t have any seams in our transition.”

So far in December, at least 14 U.S. servicemembers have died of injuries suffered in Iraq and Afghanistan, the lowest combined monthly toll since the Iraq war began, according to a USA TODAY analysis of Pentagon data. The previous low was 18 in November.

Deaths for the year as of Tuesday were 466 in both wars, lower even than the partial year of 2003, when fighting in Iraq began March 20.

Odierno said brewing tensions in Iraq between Arabs and Kurds in the north, interference by Iran and simmering internal political tensions pose potential for large-scale attacks against U.S. forces.

Plus the Pentagon plans to send as many as 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan by summer.

The next test will be a series of Iraqi elections, starting with the Jan. 31 vote for provincial councils, which could stir up violence.

“Al-Qaida will try to exploit the elections because they don’t want them to happen. So I think they will attempt to create some violence and uncertainty in the population,” Odierno said. “The next 60 days are a critical period.”

Bombings remain a daily feature in Iraq, with mostly civilians being hurt. Military deaths have gone down significantly in Iraq since the 2007 buildup of U.S. troops and a push to recruit former Sunni insurgents into Iraq’s security forces.

The so-called surge quieted al-Qaida and Iranian-backed “special groups,” said Col. Bill Buckner, a U.S. military spokesman. “We aggressively pursued their leadership and networks, significantly disrupting their activities.”

For now, major military operations are limited, he said. And Iraq attacks in 2008 dropped from an average of nearly 180 a day to 10, the Pentagon says.

“If you look back to a year or two ago, it would have been unthinkable that we’d be where we are right now,” said Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin, the No. 2 U.S. commander in Iraq.

The drop in deaths also stems from U.S. troops turning over more responsibility to Iraqi security forces to lead patrols and anti-insurgent operations.

Iraq added more than 39,000 police and 30,000 soldiers in 2008, Buckner said. In May, coalition forces conducted 50 percent to 60 percent of patrols. By December, up to 70 percent were led by Iraqi Security Forces.

U.S. troops have gradually pulled back by turning over dozens of combat outposts to Iraqis, as the number of brigade combat teams deployed here has dropped to 14 from 20.