BAGHDAD — Three more American soldiers were killed this week, the United States military announced on Thursday, bringing the combat-related deaths for United States forces in Iraq to a monthly toll not seen since 2008.
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The deaths occurred Wednesday in southern Iraq. A military spokesman confirmed that the soldiers had been killed by enemy attack.
The increase in casualties has been attributed to rocket or mortar attacks on American bases by Shiite militias. American convoys have also come under increasing threat from improvised explosive devices. Militants have stepped up their attacks, the military said, in an effort to claim credit for pushing out the American forces, who are to withdraw by the end of the year.
The casualties are particularly striking given the diminishing numbers of American forces and their reduced combat role. Fewer than 50,000 troops remain, compared with more than 160,000 at the height of the war.
As of Thursday, 15 American soldiers had been reported killed in June — 14 of them in hostilities. According to iCasualties.org, an online database, it is the highest number of combat fatalities since June 2008, when 23 soldiers and Marines were killed.
The biggest attack came on June 6, when militants fired rockets at Camp Loyalty in Baghdad, killing six soldiers. Kataib Hezbollah, a militia that American officials believe is supported by Iran, claimed responsibility for that attack.
Last August, President Obama declared that America’s combat mission had ended in Iraq, and while American forces have largely settled into an advisory role to the Iraqi military, they are still in harm’s way, whether they are on their bases or moving around in convoys.
According to the security agreement between Iraq and the United States, American forces are severely restricted in their ability to act unilaterally to face threats, a fact that has ratcheted up the anxiety — and the anger — among troops who find themselves under attack but unable to respond.
This is compounded by the Iraqi government’s historical reluctance to make targets of Shiite militias, many of which are linked to officials in or close to the Shiite-dominated government.
Iraqi security forces have been far more aggressive in singling out Sunni insurgent groups like Al Qaeda in Iraq than they have been in carrying out operations against Shiite militants.
Meanwhile, the debate persists in Baghdad over whether the government of Iraq should ask the United States to extend the troop deadline and allow some units to stay and continue training exercises. The United States has indicated that it would say yes to such a request, although it is unclear what impact the latest attacks — and troop deaths — would have on that decision.
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