BAGHDAD, July 31 (AFP): Eleven US soldiers were killed in Iraq in July, the lowest monthly toll since the 2003 invasion, according Pentagon figures, highlighting what US commanders say is a marked drop in overall violence.
The number compares with the deadliest month of November 2004 when 137 American troops were slain, an independent toll by icasualties.org showed. The previous low was in May this year when 19 soldiers were killed.
Since the US-led invasion of March 2003 that toppled now executed dictator Saddam Hussein, a total of 4,125 US troops have been killed in Iraq, according icasualties.org.
The downward trend in violence began in the middle of last year after a US "surge" in troops, althoug there were two spikes in bloodshed in March and April during clashes between Shiite militiamen and US-led forces.
The commander of US forces in Iraq, General David Petraeus, said in an interview published two days ago that overall violence was falling to almost "normal" levels.
But he warned that that the trend could be reversed by "sensational attacks" like two bombings on Monday in Baghdad and Kirkuk in which about 56 Iraqis were killed and more than 200 wounded.
"If you could reduce these sensational attacks further, I think you are almost approaching a level of normal or latent violence," he told USA Today.
"The fact that the levels of violence have come down so significantly and stayed down now for some two-and-a-half months... indicates there is a degree of durability," Petraeus said.
The fall in the number of US military deaths comes as US troops back Iraqi forces in a major assault on Qaeda fighters in the dangerous Diyala province and its capital, Baquba.
That operation involves about 50,000 Iraqi police and soldiers, with US troops giving intelligence and logistical support, General Ali Gedan, director of military operations in Diyala, told the agency.
The United States and Iraq are still trying to hammer out an agreement governing US troops levels in the country beyond 2008 when the UN mandate covering the presence of foreign soldiers expires.
In principle, Thursday was the final day of a timeframe set last November between US President George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to sign a Status of Forces Agreement.
About 142,500 US troops are currently stationed in the country.
