The week that followed the hunting down and killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaida's director of operations in Iraq, saw the rate at which U.S. soldiers were killed and wounded in Iraq fall dramatically from the exceptionally high figures of the previous week.

The total number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq through Tuesday, June 20, since the start of operations to topple Saddam Hussein on March 19, 2003, was 2,502, according to official figures issued by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Therefore, only four U.S. soldiers died in Iraq during the seven-day period from June 14 through June 20 at an average rate of 1.75 per day. This was an improvement of more than 25 percent on the rate during the previous eight-day period of June 6-13 when 2.5 U.S. soldiers were killed per day in Iraq.

Those June 6-13 figures had been an increase of almost 39 percent on the rate of fatalities suffered during the previous six-day period of May 31-June 5 when some 11 U.S. troops died in Iraq at an average rate of 1.82 per day.

The most recent figures were also far better than the 48-day period from April 13 to May 30, when 107 U.S. troops died in Iraq at an average rate of just over 2.2 per day. However, they were still slightly worse than the 68-day period from Feb. 4 to April 12, when 112 U.S. troops died in Iraq at an average of 1.65 per day.

The rate at which U.S. soldiers are being injured in Iraq also fell over the past week. As of June 20, 18,572 U.S. soldiers have been injured in Iraq since the start of hostilities. That was an increase of 82 wounded in seven days at an average rate of 11.7 per day.

This was far better than the previous eight day period, June 6-13, when 236 U.S. troops were wounded in Iraq - at an average rate of 29.5 per day. And it was almost identical to the average rate of U.S. troops wounded during the six-day period before that, from May 31 to June 5, when 70 U.S. soldiers were wounded at an average rate of 11.67 per day.

These figures were also slightly better than the average figures over the previous three-and-a-half months. Some 635 U.S. soldiers were wounded in the 48-day period from April 13 to May 30 at an average rate of just over 13.2 wounded per day.

That figure showed a remarkable statistical consistency compared with the previous 68-day period from Feb. 4 to April 12 when 943 U.S. soldiers were wounded in 68 days, an average rate of just below 13.9 wounded per day, according to figures issued by the Department of Defense.

As of June 20, 8,508 of these U.S. troops were wounded so seriously that they were listed as "WIA Not RTD" in the DOD figures. In other words, Wounded in Action Not Returned to Duty. This marked an increase of only seven such casualties in seven days, or an average of one a day.

That was only around seven percent the rate of the previous eight day period from June 5 through June 12 when U.S. forces suffered 115 such casualties in eight days, an average of 14.38 per day.

These figures were also vastly better than the previous six-day period of May 31-June 5 which saw 42 such casualties, at an average rate of seven per day.

And they were also a dramatic improvement on the figures of 286 such casualties over 48 days from April 13 through May 30, at an average rate of just under six per day and the Feb.4-April 12 rate of 5.5 such casualties per day over 68 days for a total of 375 seriously injured.

It remains to be seen whether these figures were just a short-term lull, the way the previous week's figures clearly reflected a short-term "spike" in insurgent activity.

It may be that what senior U.S. military officers called the "treasure trove" of information associated with the breaking of terorrist cells associated with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has indeed dealt a serious and lasting blow to the insurgents.

It could also be that al-Qaida and the groups associated with it are undergoing a period of restructuring and reassessment following the loss of their operational commander while his successor takes control.

Still, whether the far lower figures for casualties inflicted on U.S. forces in Iraq last week reflected a tactical lull in the fighting or a significant strategic shift, they represented a most welcome trend after the steady deterioration of recent months.

US Army Raises Maximum Enlistment Age To 42

Meanwhile, the US Army said Wednesday it is raising the maximum age for enlistment from 40 to 42 in an effort to expand its pool of potential recruits.

The move comes just six months after the army raised the maximum age from 35 to 40, reflecting continuing concerns about recruiting even though it has met its monthly goals for the past 12 months.

"Experience has shown that older recruits who can meet the physical demands of military service generally make excellent soldiers based on their maturity, motivation, loyalty, and patriotism," the army recruiting command said in a statement.

It said recruits between the ages of 40 to 42 must meet the same physical standards as younger ones but will be subjected to additional medical screening.

Both men and women in that age bracket can enlist and are eligible for the same signing bonuses and other incentives as younger recruits.

The command said more than 1,000 individuals over the age of 35 have enlisted since the maximum age was raised in January.

The next four months are crucial to the army's efforts to enlist 80,000 new recruits this fiscal year. Last year it fell about eight percent short of the mark.

The service will have to meet higher recruiting targets in the last four months than they did last year to reach the 80,000 mark.

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