Iraqi Violence Ebbed in September, Reports Say
By PAUL von ZIELBAUER
BAGHDAD, Oct. 1 The number of violent civilian deaths in Iraq dropped precipitously in September compared with the previous month, an Iraqi government official and an independent monitoring group said Monday.
The general downward trend in violence was also apparent in the decline, to 63, in the number of American service members killed last month, from 84 in August, the American military reported Monday. That was the lowest monthly total in more than a year.
American military officials here quickly asserted that the decline in civilian and military deaths was a direct result of the rapid buildup of American forces in Iraq this year.
In September, 1,654 civilians were killed in Iraq, a 29 percent decline from the 2,318 civilians killed in August, according to an Interior Ministry official here. The official spoke only on condition of anonymity; American and Iraqi government officials here are reluctant to provide figures for civilian deaths.
The Iraqi officials September civilian death count was much higher, and the percentage decline much smaller, than those seen in reports provided by other groups that regularly monitor civilian deaths in Iraq. For example, Iraq Body Count, a nongovernmental group based in Britain, said the number of civilian deaths in September was 1,280, compared with 2,575 in August, a reduction of nearly half.
Also on Monday, Reuters, citing information gathered from the Iraqi Health, Interior and Defense Ministries, also reported a 50 percent decline, but gave different figures, saying 884 civilians were killed in September the lowest monthly total this year compared with 1,773 in August.
Iraq Body Count had reported that violence against civilians in Iraq reached highs in the last six months of 2006, and that the first six months of 2007 was the most deadly first half for civilians of any year since the war began.
The recent drop in violence against noncombatants in Iraq occurred during a time when Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia had promised to inflict more. Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia is a homegrown Sunni Arab extremist group that American intelligence has concluded is led by foreigners. More than two weeks ago, at the start of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, the group said it would escalate its attacks, particularly against Sunni Arab tribal leaders who were cooperating with American military and Iraqi security forces.
An American military spokesman here said Sunday that attacks led by Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia in Anbar Province, Iraqs largely Sunni western region, were down 38 percent compared with the same period last year.
While the number of American troops killed in September was the lowest monthly total seen this year, the fatality total through the first nine months of the year, 801, is more than 200 higher than what had been recorded through that period in any year since the war began.
The casualty figures are still too high, the spokesman, Rear Admiral Mark I. Fox, said during a news conference in the fortified Green Zone. But he added, The trend is in the right direction.
In a joint statement, the top American civilian and military leaders in Iraq praised Iraqs security forces, religious leaders and ordinary citizens.
You and your fellow citizens have demonstrated resolve in the face of challenges posed by Iraqs extremist enemies, said the statement by Ryan C. Crocker, the American ambassador to Iraq, and Gen. David H. Petraeus, the commander of American forces. Increasing numbers of citizens have rejected extremism, the statement went on, also praising the followers of Moktada al-Sadr, the anti-American Shiite cleric who in August ordered his militia to cease fire against American troops.
Meanwhile, as October arrived, a measure of violence in Iraq continued, against American forces and civilians. A car bomb exploded near a university in Mosul, in northern Iraq, killing a professor of agriculture and five other people, a police spokesman said. Also, 11 bodies were found in Baghdad, the Interior Ministry official said. In the southern city of Basra, an assassination attempt against the citys chief of police failed, the police reported.
By PAUL von ZIELBAUER
BAGHDAD, Oct. 1 The number of violent civilian deaths in Iraq dropped precipitously in September compared with the previous month, an Iraqi government official and an independent monitoring group said Monday.
The general downward trend in violence was also apparent in the decline, to 63, in the number of American service members killed last month, from 84 in August, the American military reported Monday. That was the lowest monthly total in more than a year.
American military officials here quickly asserted that the decline in civilian and military deaths was a direct result of the rapid buildup of American forces in Iraq this year.
In September, 1,654 civilians were killed in Iraq, a 29 percent decline from the 2,318 civilians killed in August, according to an Interior Ministry official here. The official spoke only on condition of anonymity; American and Iraqi government officials here are reluctant to provide figures for civilian deaths.
The Iraqi officials September civilian death count was much higher, and the percentage decline much smaller, than those seen in reports provided by other groups that regularly monitor civilian deaths in Iraq. For example, Iraq Body Count, a nongovernmental group based in Britain, said the number of civilian deaths in September was 1,280, compared with 2,575 in August, a reduction of nearly half.
Also on Monday, Reuters, citing information gathered from the Iraqi Health, Interior and Defense Ministries, also reported a 50 percent decline, but gave different figures, saying 884 civilians were killed in September the lowest monthly total this year compared with 1,773 in August.
Iraq Body Count had reported that violence against civilians in Iraq reached highs in the last six months of 2006, and that the first six months of 2007 was the most deadly first half for civilians of any year since the war began.
The recent drop in violence against noncombatants in Iraq occurred during a time when Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia had promised to inflict more. Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia is a homegrown Sunni Arab extremist group that American intelligence has concluded is led by foreigners. More than two weeks ago, at the start of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, the group said it would escalate its attacks, particularly against Sunni Arab tribal leaders who were cooperating with American military and Iraqi security forces.
An American military spokesman here said Sunday that attacks led by Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia in Anbar Province, Iraqs largely Sunni western region, were down 38 percent compared with the same period last year.
While the number of American troops killed in September was the lowest monthly total seen this year, the fatality total through the first nine months of the year, 801, is more than 200 higher than what had been recorded through that period in any year since the war began.
The casualty figures are still too high, the spokesman, Rear Admiral Mark I. Fox, said during a news conference in the fortified Green Zone. But he added, The trend is in the right direction.
In a joint statement, the top American civilian and military leaders in Iraq praised Iraqs security forces, religious leaders and ordinary citizens.
You and your fellow citizens have demonstrated resolve in the face of challenges posed by Iraqs extremist enemies, said the statement by Ryan C. Crocker, the American ambassador to Iraq, and Gen. David H. Petraeus, the commander of American forces. Increasing numbers of citizens have rejected extremism, the statement went on, also praising the followers of Moktada al-Sadr, the anti-American Shiite cleric who in August ordered his militia to cease fire against American troops.
Meanwhile, as October arrived, a measure of violence in Iraq continued, against American forces and civilians. A car bomb exploded near a university in Mosul, in northern Iraq, killing a professor of agriculture and five other people, a police spokesman said. Also, 11 bodies were found in Baghdad, the Interior Ministry official said. In the southern city of Basra, an assassination attempt against the citys chief of police failed, the police reported.
