Death toll for U.S. troops in Iraq tops 840 in 2005

New York Times Jan. 1, 2006 12:00 AM

BAGHDAD - At least 844 American service members were killed in Iraq in 2005, nearly matching 2004's total of 848, and the number of service members wounded in 2005 was significantly higher than in the previous year, according to information released by the U.S. government and a non-profit organization that tracks casualties in Iraq.

The Associated Press, which keeps its own statistics, reported the year's death toll as slightly lower, saying 841 had been killed.

The 9,157 GIs wounded in Iraq in 2005 far exceeded the 7,956 wounded in 2004.

The deaths of two Americans announced by the U.S. military on Friday - a Marine killed by gunfire in Fallujah and a soldier killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad - brought the total killed since the war in Iraq began in March 2003 to 2,178. The total wounded since the war began is 15,955.

In 2005, the single bloodiest month for American troops was January, when 107 were killed and nearly 500 were wounded. At the time, American forces were conducting numerous operations to secure the country for the Jan. 30 elections.

The second worst month was October, when 96 Americans were killed and 603 wounded.

More than half of all 2005 American military deaths, 427, were caused by homemade bombs, most of them planted along roadsides and detonated as vehicles passed.

American commanders have said that roadside bombs, the leading cause of death in Iraq, have grown larger and more sophisticated. Many are triggered by remote detonators.

In historical terms, the number of casualties in Iraq is still relatively small. At the height of the Vietnam War, the American military was sustaining 500 killed and wounded each week.