By Prensa Latina,
Baghdad : The US military death toll in Iraq in May amounted to 19 after an American soldier was reported dead in the northwestern province of Al Anbar.
A brief official report from the US Army announced Saturday that a Marine died in a non-combat incident, which is still under investigation. The victim”s name will be disclosed as soon as his family is informed.
May could have been the lowest monthly toll of the war, which has already claimed the lives of 179 American soldiers in 2008.
The month which saw the highest US losses was November 2004, when 137 American troops were killed.
The total number of US soldiers killed in Iraq since de March 2003 invasion has climbed to 4,084. Another 29,978 were wounded, according to military sources.
In a separate incident, a bomb explosion killed at least three people and wounded seven in Baquba, capital of Diyala, northeast this capital, police sources reported.
Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner began a two-day visit to Iraq.
Kouchner arrived in Baghdad from the city of Nasiriya, 233 miles south Baghdad, and was welcomed in an US air base by Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi.
An official report disclosed by the French Foreign Office revealed that the visit is part of France”s political commitment in Iraq and their peoples, to favor national reconciliation.
The diplomat will travel to the northern city of Erbil, capital of the Iraqi Kurdistan, to inaugurate a French consulate in that region, according to the report of the French Ministry.
During his stay in Iraq Kouchner will meet with President Jalal Talabani, Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki and his counterpart Hoshyar Zeybari.
In his second visit to Iraq over the last nine months, the French official is also meetings with the Catholic Archbishop Caldeo Emmanuel III, human rights activists and regional leaders.