US military deaths in Iraq drop as Iraqis targeted

WASHINGTON, Apr 1 (Reuters) U S military deaths declined in the Iraq war for a fifth straight month in March even as insurgent attacks continue unabated with Iraqis increasingly the targets.

There have been 2,327 U S military deaths in the war, and another 17,381 troops have been wounded in action, the Pentagon said on Friday. But the monthly U S military death toll has steadily dropped since reaching 96 last October, the fourth deadliest month of the war.

There were at least 29 U.S. military deaths in March, according to a count of fatalities announced by the military. That would represent the smallest monthly death toll since 20 in February 2004, the lowest of the three-year war.

U S officers in Iraq said several factors have contributed to the decline, including that insurgents are now directing their attacks toward civilians and U.S.-trained Iraqi government security forces who are assuming more security responsibilities previously handled by U.S. and allied forces.

Defense analysts said the recent decline in U.S. deaths is not evidence of an overall improving security environment.

''It still does not fundamentally alter the deteriorating security situation in the country, given the rise in sectarian violence,'' said Ted Carpenter of the Cato Institute think tank.

Asked to explain the dropping U.S. fatalities, U.S. Army Maj.

Gen. James Thurman, responsible for security operations in the Baghdad area, cited the growing capabilities of Iraqi security forces, who number around 242,000.

''I just returned today from being out in one of the toughest spots in Baghdad, where we've had numerous drive-by shootings, IEDs (improved explosive devices), kidnappings and intimidation from terrorists,'' Thurman, commander of the Army's 4th Infantry Division, told reporters at the Pentagon by teleconference from Baghdad.

''And what I saw today was a true Iraqi force in the lead with Iraqi army, Iraqi national police and Iraqi police, with coalition assistance, performing a great job out there.'' Questions remain about the ability of these forces to act independently of U.S. troops, to whom they are loyal, and how much they have been infiltrated by insurgents.

''What we're seeing is the reflection of two developments -- first of all, the U.S. military being more and more into a force-protection mode, keeping its military personnel as unexposed as possible to fighting,'' Carpenter said.

''Secondly, the nature of the violence has changed. The U.S.

military is not the primary target any more. Rather, what we've seen is the upsurge of sectarian violence, so the targets are now Sunnis and Shi'ites going after each other.'' Asked about the recent U.S. casualty rates, Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch told reporters in Baghdad on Thursday the enemy in Iraq had turned its focus particularly in the past three months ''to the softest target he can find: and that's the innocent men, women and children of Iraq.'' ''And he's also turned his attacks against the Iraqi security forces, because he sees them as his primary threat, to derail a democratic process,'' Lynch added.

More than 200 other foreign troops have been killed in the war, along with an estimated tens of thousands of Iraqis.

REUTERS SK RN0501