U.S. Deaths In Iraq Near Peak Months

Arabi, an Iraqi, suggested other reasons for the surge in attacks: the desire of guerrillas to have their deaths come in the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, when some Muslims believe martyrdom will earn them special grace in paradise, and what he said was a new influx of foreign fighters, who he said had already made possible dozens of suicide attacks during Ramadan alone.

Except for that last reason, American officers have given all the same possible causes.

Of Iraq's 18 provinces, Anbar is by far the deadliest for U.S. troops: About 1,022 service members have been killed there since the war began, compared with 733 in Baghdad and 281 in Salahuddin province north of the capital, according to the Web site iCasualties.org.

So far in October, not including the most recent American deaths, 35 U.S. troops have been killed in Anbar, 42 in Baghdad and seven in Salahuddin, accounting for 88 percent of the U.S. fatalities, according to the Web site.

In all, 96 American troops have died of all causes -- including accidents and attacks -- since October began. The count is the highest overall toll in a year.

American deaths in the war are dwarfed by those of Iraqi civilians and troops, however.

During the recently concluded month of Ramadan, attacks killed about 300 Iraqi police officers, soldiers and other security forces, Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the U.S. commander in Iraq, said this week.

Civilians have died in even larger numbers. Violence killed more than 2,660 last month in Baghdad alone, reflecting a toll that has more than doubled since late spring. Before the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, the number of victims of violent death received by the city morgue averaged 10 a month.

On Thursday, gun battles in the northern town of Baqubah killed 24 Iraqi police officers and one civilian, the U.S. military announced on Friday.

U.S. military officials said in an e-mailed statement that the "intense house-to-house fighting" began when the Iraqi police unit came under fire by "anti-Iraq forces." American troops were diverted from another mission to provide both air and ground support to the Iraqi police.

Baqubah is home to many Sunni insurgents, but Shiite militiamen also are reported to have flooded into the area lately, and it was not clear who was responsible for Thursday's fighting.

Eighteen of the unidentified gunmen were killed in the fighting, eight were injured and 27 were taken into custody, the U.S. military said. U.S. and Iraqi police forces also captured weapons and ammunition during the fighting, the military statement said.

It appeared that the gunmen might have been attempting to win the release of jailed comrades. Maj. Gen. Shakha Hyllil al-Kabi, an Iraqi army commander, said authorities in Baqubah released 53 detainees, keeping only 10 behind. "This is an answer for all the terrorists: We only keep those involved'' in crimes, said Kabi, who said authorities also returned some confiscated cars.

Other Washington Post staff in Iraq contributed to this report.