US deaths in Iraq reach 2,500

WASHINGTON - A total of 2,500 US troops have been killed in Iraq since the US and British invasion three years ago, the Pentagon has revealed.

The military did not give details of the casualty or casualties whose death moved the total to this latest dark milestone which was announced as Congress began a largely symbolic debate about the war.

"I don't know that there's ever a way that you can adequately thank a family for the sacrifice that they make in the loss of a loved one," said General Carter Ham, deputy operations chief for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"Yet it's important to remember that...there is a mission and there is a greater good which sometimes necessitates tremendous sacrifice."

The news follows a slight boost received by President Bush's poll numbers following the killing last week in Iraq of senior al Qaeda fighter Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

However, of considerable concern to a Republican party facing tough mid-term elections this November, his numbers remain low with an approval rating of just 38 per cent.

Despite Zarqawi's killing - one of few pieces of "good" news the Bush administration has been able to point to in Iraq - the US public remains bitterly divided over the war and ongoing deployment of US troops.

According to the Pentagon totals, there have been 1,972 service members killed in action in Iraq, and another 528 died from other non-hostile causes. A further 18,490 troops have been wounded. A total of 113 British troops have been killed.

The Pentagon claims not to keep records of civilian deaths in Iraq though a independent study published more than 18 months ago in The Lancet medical journal suggested more than 100,000 could have been killed.

The number of such deaths recorded by the media and collated by the Iraq Boy Count (IBC) group currently stands at a minimum of 38,355 though the IBC admits most civilian deaths likely go unreported.

The Pentagon has also said since the killing of Zarqawi last week it has carried out a further 452 raids. It said 104 insurgents had been killed in these raids and that 28 significant arms caches had been found.

Meanwhile, Iraqi officials claimed that among a "treasure trove" of documents discovered at Zarqawi's safe included a blue print drawn up by al Qaeda to create war between the US and Iran.

- INDEPENDENT