Iraq War News Updates -- August 1, 2008

Iraqi forces are taking more responsibility for security Photograph: Ali Yussef/AFP

US Toll In Iraq Hits All-Time Low As Month Ends -- Yahoo News/AP

BAGHDAD - The monthly U.S. toll in Iraq fell to its lowest point since the war began, with at least 10 American deaths as July drew to a close Thursday after the departure of the last surge brigade.

Iraqis also are dying at dramatically lower numbers with the war in its sixth year. July saw the lowest civilian toll since December 2005, though a series of suicide bombings this week and rising ethnic tensions in northern Iraq reflect the fragility of the security successes.

An Associated Press tally shows that at least 510 Iraqi civilians and security force members were killed in July, a 75 percent drop from the 2,021 deaths in the same period last year as the U.S. troop buildup aimed at quelling rampant Sunni-Shiite violence was nearing its peak.

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MORE NEWS ON IRAQ

Iraq govt calls for calm as Kirkuk row intensifies -- Reuters
Baghdad warns against tensions in disputed Kirkuk -- AP
Kirkuk Turmoil Over Council Move -- Institute For War And Peace Reporting
Kirkuk blast kills three Iraqi soldiers -- KUNA
Official: Suicide bombers wound 3 Iraqi soldiers -- USA Today
Security forces detain al-Qaeda media expert in Diyala -- Aswataliraq
Suicide car bomb kills 3 Iraqi policemen -- Yahoo News
Iraq: Troops arrest 189 in security swoop -- ADNKronos
Combat Engineers Finding Fewer IEDs -- MNF
South Baghdad Ready for Transition -- MNF
Iraq: Shia leader warns against security pact with US -- ADNKronos
Firebrand cleric tells followers not to attack Iraqi government forces -- McClatchy Newspapers
"Martyrs' List' tallies Mahdi Army's troubles" -- Yahoo News/AP
US military: Better security allows Bush to cut Iraq troops -- The Guardian
U.S. May Reduce Troops in Iraq -- Time Magazine
US troops charged in Iraq deaths to face tribunal -- Yahoo News
Iraq's rebuilding planned at nearly $120 billion -- Yahoo News

My Comment: A prediction .... if in the next few months we have casualty rates that are half of what they have been for the past month .... expect almost all major U.S. combat troops out within 12 months.