I am not impressed. U.S. deaths are up, and we have no way of knowing what the actual Iraqi death count is. They can tell us anything they want.

By SINAN SALAHEDDIN, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Around 1,200 Iraqi civilians were killed in violence in June, a 36 percent drop from the previous month and the lowest monthly toll this year, according to Iraqi government figures obtained Sunday.

The decrease comes amid a U.S. troop increase in Baghdad that began in February and has been building since, with the military launching simultaneous offensives in mid-June aimed at uprooting insurgents in the capital and neighboring provinces to the northeast and south.

A U.S. military spokesman said the decrease was encouraging but that it was too early to attribute it to the crackdown. “The synchronized effort only began two weeks ago. It’s too early to declare a trend,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver.

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Iraqi Security Forces and Civilian Deaths
Source: Iraq Coalition Casualties
Jun-07 1342
May-07 1980
Apr-07 1821
Mar-07 2977
Feb-07 3014
Jan-07 1802
Dec-06 1752
Nov-06 1864
Oct-06 1539
Sep-06 3539
Aug-06 2966
Jul-06 1280
Jun-06 870
May-06 1119
Apr-06 1009
Mar-06 1092
Feb-06 846
Jan-06 779
Note: Iraqi deaths based on news reports . This is not a definitive count. Actual totals for Iraqi deaths are higher than the numbers recorded on this site.