April-May GI Iraq Death Toll Tops 200

WASHINGTON - American troops in Iraq (news - web sites) died in May at a rate of more than two per day, pushing the combined death count for April and May beyond 200, according to Pentagon (news - web sites) figures.


For the National Guard and Reserve, whose part-time soldiers make up at least one-third of the 135,000 American troops in Iraq, the trend in casualties during May was especially troubling.


At least 22 citizen soldiers died, nearly one-third of all U.S. losses in May. As a percentage of the month's death toll, that is about double what it had been in most previous months of the war. It also shows that the Guard and Reserve are bearing an increasing combat load.


Three states — Arkansas, North Carolina and Washington — now have an Army National Guard combat brigade in Iraq. In the next rotation of troops that will begin late this summer, there will be at least three others, and probably a fourth, plus a National Guard division headquarters.

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