'The number of civilians killed in Iraq last month decreased by more than 50 percent from the number in August, while 64 U.S. military personnel died in September, the lowest monthly toll since July 2006, according to figures compiled by the U.S. military, the Iraqi government and The Associated Press.
The sharp decline in death tolls signaled a U.S. success, if a temporary one, in bringing down violence in Baghdad and surrounding regions since Washington completed its addition of 30,000 troops on June 15.
The figures for civilian deaths were dramatic, falling to 922 last month from 1,975 in August, a decline of 53.3 percent. Iraq's ministries of health, interior and defense said that 844 civilians and 78 police officers and Iraqi soldiers were killed in September. In August, AP figures showed that 1,809 civilians and 155 police officers and Iraqi soldiers were killed in sectarian violence.
The civilian death toll has not been so low since June 2006, when 847 Iraqis died.
In a joint statement released Monday, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, and General David Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander here, commended Iraq's security forces and its citizens for the decrease in violence.'
Published: October 1, 2007
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