U.S. Death Toll in Iraq Hits 52 So Far This Month - New York Times: "BAGHDAD, Oct. 15 — The American military command said today that three American soldiers died on Saturday when a concealed bomb was detonated near their patrol in southern Baghdad, bringing the total of American troop deaths in Iraq this month to at least 52, an extraordinarily high midmonth tally.
At the current rate of American military deaths — about 3.5 a day — October is on track to be the third deadliest month of the entire conflict for American forces, according to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, an independent Web site that tracks war-related casualties.
Violence erupted around Iraq today. In a deadly spate of attacks in the northern city of Kirkuk, six bombs, all apparently coordinated, exploded within a few hours of each other, killing at least 17 people and wounding 73 others, according to police officials. At least three of the blasts were suicide car bombs, the officials said.
The rising American military death toll, which comes in spite of improvements in armor and other defenses, follows a recent decision by the American military to raise the profile of American troops in Baghdad and increase their combat operations.
Beginning last year, American commanders reduced the number of American patrols and pushed Iraqi forces to take over more responsibility for securing the capital.
But in late July, amid escalating sectarian violence that threatened to engulf the city and shove the country into full-scale civil war, American commanders decided to reverse their strategy, shift thousands of American troops to the capital from elsewhere in the country and abandon a plan to significantly reduce troop strength by the end of the year A cornerstone of the new approach has been the house-to-house sweeps of Baghdad’s most troubled areas, intended to ferret out militia networks, fighters and armaments. To date, the Americans, with Iraqi assistance, have swept eight districts."