STEVEN R. HURST

Associated Press

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The number of Iraqi civilian deaths at American checkpoints and in encounters with U.S. convoys has fallen sharply, from as many as eight a week a year ago to one a week last month, the U.S. military reported Thursday.

Last week was the least deadly since the military began keeping records in July, with no Iraqi civilians killed despite 50 so-called "escalation of force" incidents at U.S.-controlled roadblocks and with convoys, Lt. Col. Michelle Martin-Hing said.

"It's a combination of different things," Martin-Hing told The Associated Press. "We've begun a concerted effort to educate the local people. In March, we began an campaign about proper procedures when approaching a checkpoint or convoy.

"Plus there's been a standardization of markings at all checkpoints, beginning with warning signs at 300 yards," she said, meaning all checkpoints throughout the country are the same, whether they are manned by Iraqi or American-led forces.

The first sign at 300 yards warns drivers they are approaching a checkpoint, and periodic signs repeat the warning the rest of the way. U.S. military convoys also display warning signs, in Arabic and English, telling drivers to keep 300 yards away or risk being shot.

The account of decreased Iraqi civilian deaths involving checkpoints and convoys comes at a time of controversy for the U.S. military over other civilian deaths: Seven Marines and a sailor are charged with murder in the killing of an Iraqi man, and other Marines are suspected in the killing of 24 civilians in the western Iraqi city of Haditha last November.

Martin-Hing acknowledged that the decreasing numbers of U.S. forces actively working checkpoints and fewer American troop convoys on the road also could partly explain the decrease in civilian deaths.

The average civilian death toll in such encounters in the period from July through December had been "seven or eight" a week, she said.

According to overall civilian death figures compiled by the Associated Press for the period July through December, an average of at least 14 Iraqi civilians was killed each day in war-related violence. From January through June 21, 2006, the daily average of civilian deaths climbed sharply to at least 23.

The AP figures show 6,441 Iraqi civilians have been killed since July 1, with 3,980 of that number, or about 62 percent, killed in war-related violence since the beginning of this year. The ratio of wounded civilians was nearly identical when comparing the two periods.

The AP figures are for civilians only and do not account for the deaths of Iraqi security personnel or insurgents. The civilian death toll is a minimum estimate based on AP reporting, which does not cover all incidents. The figure also does not include the nearly 1,000 Shiite pilgrims killed in the August 2005 bridge stampede.

Martin-Hing said the military also credited the decreasing death toll to an "awareness campaign within our own forces - educating them about the culture and giving them information they can use when faced with sometimes split-second decisions."

For example, troops are told to check how many people are in a car, with the reasoning that a potential attacker would not be carrying many passengers, or that someone driving erratically or too fast might be distracted by children or others.

"It has helped them make better choices and decisions, so they understand that not every speeding vehicle is a suicide bomber," she said.

Martin-Hing said the program was initiated by Lt. Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, the No. 2 American officer in Iraq, in a bid to keep U.S. soldiers safe without using excessive force that can deepen Iraqi anger at American forces.

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Figures on overall civilian deaths provided by the Associated Press News Research Center. | save this article / add to your favorites list