Here's an article from one week ago (20th April)

Here the figure qouted is at least 106

"At least 106 U.S. troops have died in April amid fierce attacks by insurgents in both Sunni Muslim and Shi'ite region".

the article also mentions 109

"The death toll in the first three weeks of April has about matched the 109 killed in combat from the March 2003 start of the invasion until President Bush declared an end to "major combat" operations six weeks later".

But in todays article "Falluja Battle Sours Deal; Blast Hits WMD Hunters" , (pasted below)
after a week where Americans have been killed all over the country including in an attack on an oil terminal near basra we are still struggling to get past 110, although they do say "more than 110"
The BBC has also been very quiet about american losses and their figures are just as vague as Reuters.
One day they will qoute a figure and the next quote a much lower figure using the "more than xxx" .
It strikes me that their casualties are much higher than they are letting on. The press are banned from the U.S military bases that the coffins are shipped to.

If the first Reuters article is accurate on 106 , this week has seen at least U.S ten dead so the figure must be around 120 (at least!).

"Of the 519 U.S. service personnel killed in action since the invasion in March 2003, more than 110 have died this month, many at Falluja".

Americans Squirm as U.S. Death Toll in Iraq Surges Tue Apr 20, 2004 12:58 PM ET


By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. troops are dying in higher numbers in Iraq this month than at any time during the war, with polls showing rising unease among Americans over the mounting death toll and doubts about the conflict's merits.

At least 106 U.S. troops have died in April amid fierce attacks by insurgents in both Sunni Muslim and Shi'ite regions -- far more than any month since the U.S.-led invasion to oust President Saddam Hussein. The previous peak was 82 deaths in November during an earlier spike in attacks by insurgents.

In 13 months of military involvement in Iraq, 709 Americans have been killed in Iraq, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.

The death toll in the first three weeks of April has about matched the 109 killed in combat from the March 2003 start of the invasion until President Bush declared an end to "major combat" operations six weeks later. Bush made that declaration aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln standing in front of a banner stating, "Mission Accomplished."

In a Washington Post-ABC News poll of 1,201 U.S. adults published on Tuesday, 65 percent said there had been an "unacceptable" number of U.S. military casualties while 33 percent said the level was "acceptable."

Analysts said the mounting U.S. death toll illustrates the rising difficulty of the military task and threatens to undermine public support for Bush's Iraq policies during a presidential election year.

'DOESN'T BODE WELL'

"What it shows is that the breadth of the insurgency is increasing, that our troops are confronting firefights on multiple fronts, and the sophistication of the insurgents is growing," said Cato Institute defense analyst Ted Carpenter.

"This doesn't bode well for the fate of our mission, unfortunately."

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has expressed surprise at the recent level of U.S. military deaths in Iraq.

"We're in a different phase of the war now," said Army Lt. Col. James Cassella, a Pentagon spokesman. "Major combat operations resulted in the decisive defeat of Saddam Hussein's forces, while operations since represent a different kind of war."    Continued ...

Falluja Battle Sours Deal; Blast Hits WMD Hunters

 http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=4939559&section=news

Mon Apr 26, 2004 08:33 AM ET

By Fadel Badran

FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. air strikes on Falluja and sharp skirmishes with guerrillas inside the besieged city Monday threw doubt on a deal U.S. officials had hoped might end one of their biggest problems in Iraq.

At least 10 U.S. Marines were wounded, four seriously.

In a rare reminder of the original trigger for last year's invasion, a Baghdad warehouse blew up during what seems to have been a raid by the force hunting Saddam Hussein's still elusive chemical and biological weapons. Four U.S. military vehicles were destroyed but the casualty toll remained unclear.

With the clock ticking down to a planned handover of formal sovereignty to Iraqis on June 30, the U.S.-led occupation forces are confronting twin dilemmas posed by besieged anti-American fighters from both main religious groups in Iraq -- minority Sunni Muslims in Falluja and Shi'ites in the holy city of Najaf.

A deal struck Sunday with civic leaders in Falluja, 50 km (30 miles) west of Baghdad, aimed at putting joint patrols of U.S. Marines and Iraqi police on the streets Tuesday, when an offer to the insurgents to lay down their heavy weapons expires. Local people were deeply skeptical, however.

"I expect the U.S. and Iraqi forces to be exposed targets for the resistance. No one can control the feelings of the sons of Falluja because they are very angry," said one local man, Abdul Hakim Shaker, shortly before Monday's fighting broke out.

The battle that broke out shortly before noon, seemed to bear out those fears. Residents said guerrillas opened fire with rocket-propelled grenades when U.S. forces began probing into the town from the north.

After Marines replied with heavy machineguns, jets and Cobra attack helicopters flew overhead. Big explosions threw up thick black plumes of smoke. Residents said they saw corpses on the streets and an imam accused the Americans of hitting his mosque.

MARINES WOUNDED

A U.S. reporter in Falluja quoted a Marine officer as saying four Marines were very seriously wounded and six others less badly hurt. Guerrillas had forced them to retreat from two buildings after making them "fight for their lives," he said.

Of the 519 U.S. service personnel killed in action since the invasion in March 2003, more than 110 have died this month, many at Falluja