US military deaths in Iraq reach 3,000-Web site

WASHINGTON, Dec 31 (Reuters) The number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq has reached 3,000 since the 2003 US-led invasion, an authoritative Web site tracking war deaths said TOday.

The Web site, www.icasualties.org, listed the death of Spec. Dustin R. Donica, 22, on Dec. 28 as previously unreported, and said that 3,000 U.S. military personnel had now died.

A US military spokesman in Iraq could not immediately confirm that Donica's death had not previously been reported.

No soldiers were reported killed by small arms fire on Decembere 28 but the death of an unidentified soldier in a bomb attack north of the capital was announced.

The milestone comes as President George W. Bush weighs options, including more troops, for the deteriorating situation in Iraq, where daily violence plagues Baghdad and much of the country and has killed tens of thousands of Iraqis.

''Every loss is regretted and there is no special significance to the overall number of casualties,'' said Pentagon spokesman Lt Col Mark Ballesteros.

US and Iraqi troops have failed to establish security in Iraq's capital, despite concentrating their effort there, as battles among Sunni and Shi'ite Muslim militias, insurgents and government forces as well as al Qaeda fighters rage.

Bush's central justification for the war was to rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction. None have been found.

Reuters DH VP0155