Fourth U.S. soldier dies in 2010

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: One U.S. soldier has died in Iraq as a result of a non-combat incident, bringing the number of U.S. troops killed this month to four. ” A U.S. Soldier assigned to United States Forces -Iraq died of non-combat related injuries as a result of a vehicle accident, Jan. 20,” according to a U.S. army statement received by IraqiNews.com news agency. “The Soldier’s name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin,” it added, noting that the incident is under investigation. The death has brought to 4,374 the number of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, including 150 killed in 2009. Eleven were killed in November 2009, nine in October, ten in September and seven in August, the lowest number of monthly U.S. deaths since 2003. July 2009, which saw U.S. combat troops pulling out of Iraqi cities, registered eight deaths. U.S. fatalities began to decrease since the beginning of 2009: sixteen soldiers were killed in January, 17 in February and nine in March. The death toll, however, grew in April to reach 19 and then to 25 in May, including five shot down by a fellow soldier in a shooting incident inside a camp near Baghdad International Airport. Fifteen were killed in June, including five in “non-combat” incidents. Some 486 U.S. soldiers were killed in 2003, 849 in 2004, 846 in 2005, 822 in 2006 and a record high of 904 in 2007. The toll went down dramatically in 2008 to reach 314. Still, November 2004, the month that saw fierce clashes between U.S. forces and gunmen in the restive city of al-Falluja, Diala province, is the month with the highest U.S. deaths: 137. SH (S) 2