US deaths in Iraq near the 2000 mark

BAGHDAD - The number of American soldiers killed in Iraq was climbing inexorably towards the 2,000 mark yesterday with 1,996 now having died since 2003's invasion.

The US forces have also lost 15,220 wounded over the same period.

At the same time, support in the US for military action in Iraq is dwindling.

There is no sign of insurgent activity diminishing with 23 US military personnel killed in the last week, mostly by roadside bombs.

The suffering of the US army is understated because many of the 7,159 soldiers too seriously wounded to return to duty have injuries that would have killed them in previous conflicts such as the Vietnam war.

They may now be able to survive because of advances in medical care but will be severely handicapped for life.

The most severe fighting is confined to Sunni provinces with 23 per cent of all Americans dead being killed in Anbar province and 22 per cent in Baghdad.

Of fatal casualties, 28 per cent died as a result of bomb attacks and 24 per cent through gunfire.

Confidence in the US and Britain that their soldiers are dying to protect the great majority of Iraqis from a minority of insurgents will be damaged by a leaked UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) poll.

It shows that 45 per cent of Iraqis think that attacks on American and British troops are justified.

The secret opinion poll, commissioned by a senior British military officer and published by The Sunday Telegraph, reveals a high level of hostility towards the occupation.

It is striking that rejection of the presence of American and British troops is common to both the Shia and Sunni communities.

The survey, carried out across Iraq in August, shows that 82 per cent of Iraqis say they are "strongly opposed" to coalition troops, the vast majority of which are American and British.

Less than one per cent say they are responsible for an improvement in security.

The figures are unrelentingly negative about the occupation and help explain why the armed resistance has found so many sympathisers.

Some 72 per cent of Iraqis say they feel no confidence in the coalition forces, 67 per cent feel less secure because of their presence and 43 per cent say conditions for peace and stability have got worse.

Washington and London have hitherto drawn comfort from the fact that the insurrection is confined to Sunni Arabs.

The MOD sought to portray the flare up in Basra last month when two British soldiers were captured and then freed as a conflict with a few rogue policemen and their supporters.

But the poll, carried out by Iraqi academics who did not know they were working on behalf of the MOD, shows that 65 per cent of people in Maysan province, supposedly controlled by the British army, say that attacks on British and American troops are justified.

In Basra itself the figure shrinks to 25 per cent but is still sizeable.

Given that the Kurds, 20 per cent of the Iraqi population, largely welcome the US and British presence in Iraq, the survey reveals negligible support for the occupation among Iraqi Arabs.

One of the reasons why the American and British presence is so unpopular is evident from figures on social conditions.

Some 71 per cent of people do not get clean water, 70 per cent say their sewerage system does not work, 47 per cent are short of electricity and 40 per cent of southern Iraqis are unemployed.

- INDEPENDENT