Steve Shickles

AP - As of Thursday, July 31, 2008, at least 4,127 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

AP - The monthly U.S. toll in Iraq fell to its lowest point since the war began, with 11 American deaths as July drew to a close Thursday after the departure of the last surge brigade.

AFP - US President George W. Bush on Thursday hailed the “durability” of advances in Iraq and said that the improving security situation could allow for further reductions in the number of US troops in the country.

AP - July had the lowest monthly U.S. death toll in Iraq since the start of the war. Here are the 11 American personnel who died this month and two whose bodies were discovered and identified:

AP - Trumpeting progress in Iraq, President Bush said for the first time Thursday that security improvements now have a “degree of durability” — an assertion that appeared to lay the groundwork for an announcement in coming weeks of further U.S. troop reductions.

AFP - Eleven US soldiers were killed in Iraq in July, the lowest monthly toll since the 2003 invasion, according to Pentagon figures, highlighting what US commanders say is a marked drop in violence.

AFP - Iraq’s radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr called on the government on Thursday not to sign an accord being negotiated with Washington that will govern the presence of US troops from next year.

AFP - A new BBC drama of the life of Saddam Hussein which portrays the late Iraqi leader as a brutish mafia boss reminiscent of the TV gangster Tony Soprano received rave reviews on Thursday.

Reuters - U.S. President George W. Bush on
Thursday held out the prospect of further troop reductions in
Iraq later this year as he hailed a new “degree of durability”
in security gains there.

AP - Four American soldiers accused of involvement in the slaying of prisoners in Iraq will be brought before a military tribunal in Germany next month, the Army said Thursday.