2007 in Review: In Iraq, Deaths Rose on All Fronts

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January 03, 2008 10:50 AM

For nearly all involved, 2007 appeared to be one of the deadliest years yet for the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Soldiers, civilians and even reporters were killed there in record numbers, several recent tallies show.

According to Pentagon statistics, 899 U.S. soldiers died in Iraq in 2007, the highest number since the 2003 invasion.

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Separate tallies by the Iraqi government, the Associated Press and the nonprofit group Iraq Body Count show between 16,000 and 24,000 Iraqi civilians were killed in violence related to the occupation. It was the deadliest year on record for civilians there, according to the Iraqi government and the Associated Press. IBC figures indicated 2006 may have seen more Iraqi civilian deaths.

And a new study released by the French organization Reporters Without Borders says 47 journalists were killed in Iraq last year, the highest it has recorded since the 2003 invasion.  All but one of the reporters killed were Iraqi nationals, the group said, many of whom were "deliberately targeted."

Casualties for both soldiers and civilians reportedly dropped in the later months of 2007, and some observers believe the bloody trend has been reversing itself. The Pentagon reported 21 military deaths in December, the second-lowest monthly total of the occupation. And Iraqi civilian deaths for December were down 75 percent from December 2006, according to the Iraqi government.

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