(CNSNews.com) – Six weeks before the target date for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraqi cities – and amid a recent spike in violence -- it remains unclear how many troops will stay on, but Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Sunday that a “responsible” redeployment would not affect security.
In a statement after meeting with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Baghdad, Maliki said the Iraqi government would not need large numbers of U.S. troops inside cities “after we get control of them.”
A status of forces agreement drawn up late last year provides for U.S. troops to redeploy out of urban areas by the end of June; for all combat operations to end by the end of August 2010; and for all troops to withdraw from the country by the end of 2011. There are currently 134,000 American troops in Iraq.
Pelosi’s office said in a statement that Maliki and Iraqi parliamentary speaker Ayad al-Samarai had confirmed their commitment to implementing the terms of the agreement.
U.S. Army General Ray Odierno, the senior commander in Iraq, said Friday that troops had essentially pulled out of the cities already, except for Mosul – where major security operations were still underway – and Baghdad.
He told a Pentagon briefing that U.S. advisory and transition teams would continue to be embedded with Iraqi forces after the end of June but that exact numbers would be determined by local operational commanders. He estimated that about 20 percent of the forces currently in the cities would likely stay on.
“There’s going to be about an 80 percent reduction of U.S. presence in the cities once we come out of the cities,” he said. “And what we’re going to be doing is non-combat operations. We’re going to be in liaison cells … [and] if they request it, then we can bring in combat assistance to help them.”
A recent spate of bomb attacks has raised concern about a security deterioration, but Odierno noted that, overall, violence levels were around their lowest since the March 2003 invasion.
He described the recent bombings as “high-profile suicide attacks designed to garner attention and spark sectarian discord within Iraq,” but stressed that the situation was nowhere near its darkest days.
“I would emphasize that this is not 2006 or 2007,” he said. “All the political parties and government officials are appropriately disavowing the recent attacks.”
Odierno said neighboring Iran was still funding, training and equipping fighters carrying out “disruptive operations” in Iraq, although he said the level had lessened somewhat.
Iraqi officials said 355 Iraqis were killed during April. The previous April, according to Iraq Body Count project figures, the number was 1,260, and in April 2007, it was 2,436. The project bases its count on media reports.
April was the deadliest month this year for U.S. troops, with 19 killed, 13 of them in combat-related incidents. The previous three months’ figures were nine (four combat-related) in March; 17 (11 combat-related) in February; and 16 (four combat-related) in January.
The March toll was the lowest monthly number recorded since March 2003, and the tied March and January combat-related deaths were also the lowest since the war began, according to a Cybercast News Service database of Iraq casualties.
Although the 19 fatalities in April were the highest for the year, they marked a 64 percent drop from April 2008, when 53 American personnel died, 43 of them in combat-related incidents. In April 2007, 105 troops were killed, 98 in combat.
U.S. Casualties in Operation Iraqi Freedom in April
Combat
Army Spc. Israel Candelaria Mejias, 28, of San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico, died on April 5 near Baghdad, of wounds sustained when a mine detonated near him during combat operations.
Five soldiers died on April 10 when their military vehicle was struck by a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device in Mosul.
They were Staff Sgt. Gary L. Woods Jr., 24, of Lebanon Junction, Ky.; Staff Sgt. Bryan E. Hall, 32, of Elk Grove, Calif.; Sgt. Edward W. Forrest Jr., 25, of St. Louis, Mo.; Cpl. Jason G. Pautsch, 20, of Davenport, Iowa; and PV2 Bryce E. Gautier, 22, of Cypress, Calif.
Army Cpl. Michael J. Anaya, 23, of Crestview, Fla., died on April 12 in Bayji, Baghdad province when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.
Army Sgt. Raul Moncada, 29, of Madera, Calif., died April 13 near Baghdad, of wounds sustained when an explosive device detonated near his vehicle.
Army Cpl. Brad A. Davis, 21, of Garfield Heights, Ohio, died April 22 near Baghdad of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.
Army Sgt. Leroy O. Webster, 28, of Sioux Falls, S.D., died April 25 near Kirkuk, after being shot while on a dismounted patrol.
Marine Sgt. James R. McIlvaine, 26, of Olney, Md. died on April 30 while supporting combat operations in Anbar province.
Marine Staff Sgt. Mark A. Wojciechowski, 25, of Cincinnati, Ohio died on April 30 while supporting combat operations in Anbar province.
Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Tyler Trahan, 22, of East Freetown, Mass., died on April 30 while conducting combat operations in Fallujah.
Non-combat
Six U.S. servicemen died during April in incidents not related to combat.
Marine Lance Cpl. Stephen F. Dearmon, 21, of Crossville, Tenn., died April 3 as a result of a non-hostile incident in Anbar province.
Army Sgt. Daniel J. Beard, 24, of Buffalo, N.Y., died April 3 in Al Diwaniyah, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident.
Army Sgt. Christopher Loza, 24, of Abilene, Texas, died on April 10 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., of a non-combat related illness after falling ill on March 17 in Radwaniyah, Iraq.
Marine Lance Cpl. Ray A. Spencer II, 20, of Ridgecrest, Calif., died on April 16 as a result of a non-hostile incident in Anbar province.
Marine Cpl. William C. Comstock, 21, of Van Buren, Ark., died on April 22 as a result of a non-hostile incident in Anbar province.
Army CSM Benjamin Moore, Jr., 43, of Waycross, Ga., died Apr 24 at Contingency Operating Base Speicher, Iraq, of injuries sustained in a non-combat related incident.