The military, however, often informs family members of the circumstances of a fatality. Gee, that’s big of them!! A son, daughter, Father, Mother gets killed serving their country, and the military will decide if the family deserves to know the circumstances of their death. How nice of them!!

By Rick Jervis, USA TODAY
BAGHDAD - Sniper attacks on U.S. troops have risen dramatically as more Americans have been pulled into the capital to patrol on foot and in lightly armored vehicles amid raging religious violence.
Sniper attacks, generally defined as one or two well-aimed shots from a distance, have totaled 36 so far this month in Baghdad, according to U.S. military statistics.

That’s up from 23 such attacks in September and 11 in January.

The figures were confirmed by Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the No. 2 commander of U.S. forces in Iraq. “The total numbers are elevated, and the effectiveness has been greater,” he said.

At least eight of the 36 sniper attacks in Baghdad in October have been fatal, according to accounts by hometown newspapers reporting on the deaths of individual soldiers and Marines. Snipers have also killed four U.S. servicemembers in Anbar province this month.

Pentagon practice has been to withhold specifics about the cause of death from news releases about casualties to avoid letting enemy fighters know whether their tactics have been successful. The releases typically attribute deaths in such cases to “small-arms fire” or “combat operations.” The military, however, often informs family members of the circumstances of a fatality.

More here