US deaths in Iraq rose sharply in May

--BBC--

Overall violence is well on the levels of several years ago US forces in Iraq suffered their highest casualties last month than any month since September 2008. May saw 22 US soldiers killed, bringing the total number of American casualties since the 2003 invasion of Iraq to just over 4,300. All US forces are due to be off the streets of Iraq's cities and main towns by the end of this month. Combat operations everywhere in the country are due to end by September next year. US President Barack Obama has pledged to remove all US troops from Iraq, other than those involved in training, by the end of 2011. Although overall violence is sharply down on the levels of several years ago, the surge in US military deaths in May has left many here feeling uneasy about what will happen as the Americans begin their pullout, the BBC's Nicholas Witchell in Baghdad says. But Iraq's leaders are confident and say Iraqi forces are now quite capable of handling internal security without US support, he says.