Postwar Iraq Toll Exceeds Combat Deaths

By ANDREW ENGLAND, Associated Press Writer

KHALIS, Iraq - The toll of U.S. troops killed in postwar Iraq surpassed the number killed in major combat on Tuesday, reaching 139 with the death of a soldier in a roadside bombing.

Two other soldiers were wounded when the bomb hit a support convoy in the town of Hamariyah, 16 miles northwest of Baghdad, the military announced.

The incident brought the death toll since May 1, when President Bush declared an end to major combat, to one more than the number of troops who died during heavy fighting before that date. Since the war began March 20, 277 U.S. forces have died.

More