Washington - More United States troops have been killed in action in Iraq in April than during the six weeks of "major combat" after the start of the US-led invasion, casualty figures showed on Wednesday.
When President George Bush declared the end of major combat operations in Iraq on May 1, 2003, the US death toll stood at 109.
Combat deaths reported by military spokesmen in Baghdad during April climbed to at least 114 on Wednesday.
The Pentagon's official tally has not caught up yet because at least 13 deaths of servicemembers reported in April have not been officially categorised as either "killed in action" or "non hostile."
Pentagon figures, however, show that at least 124 service members have died so far this month, all but a handful of them in combat.
At least 105 have been classified as killed in action and six as unrelated to combat, a defence official said.
Since the war began, 721 US service members have lost their lives, 520 of them in combat. - Sapa-AFP