The death of an American soldier on Monday brings the total number of US soldiers killed in Iraq in the month of October to 93, making October nearly the deadliest month for US troops since the beginning of the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
In November 2004, 137 Americans were killed, and in April 2004, 135 died.
Seven US military personnel in total were killed on Monday, raising the total US military death toll in Iraq to 2,026, according to the AP.
Meanwhile, Iraqi Defense Minister Saadoun al-Dulaimi warned Syria against interfering in Iraq and called on Arab governments to pressure Damascus to crack down on Iraqi opposition groups operating from Syrian territories.
Al-Dulaimi said foreign fighters are met at the Damascus airport, trained for two to three weeks and then sent into Iraq. "The silence of the Arab regimes regarding the Syrian role in Iraq is as if they approve," al-Dulaimi told reporters, according to the AP. "I call on all the Arab regimes to pressure the Syrian brothers to put an end to the spilling of the Iraqi blood. I don't want to say more because this is a painful and sad issue to me."
