ASSOCIATED PRESS
The number of American troops wounded in Iraq soared in the past two weeks as the insurgency flared in south-central Iraq and in the Sunni Triangle north and west of Baghdad.
The Pentagon announced yesterday in its weekly casualty report that 3,864 troops have been wounded in action since the war began in March 2003, an increase of 595 from two weeks earlier.
The U.S. military death toll as of yesterday stood at 707, according to the Pentagon. At least 100 troops have been killed this month, the highest total for any month since the U.S.-led invasion began. Most deaths were in the early part of April; about 25 have died in the past two weeks.
The Pentagon announced the identities of 99 of those killed this month. It did not identify the wounded.
As the toll on U.S. forces has mounted this month, most public attention has focused on the deaths. Less has been reported on the wounded, in part because the Pentagon provides no daily updates nor does it give details on the types or severity of wounds.
The only distinction the Pentagon makes in its public reports is between the number of wounded who are returned to duty within three days and those who are not.
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