BAGHDAD, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Civilian deaths from violence in Iraq rose slightly in August, with 1,773 people killed, government statistics showed on Saturday. The figures from various ministries showed 87 police and army personnel reported killed in August, a big drop from the previous month when 224 were killed. The civilian toll was up 7 percent from 1,653 people killed in July. But it was unclear how the figure was affected by the death toll from massive truck bomb attacks against the minority Yazidi community in northern Iraq on Aug. 14. More than 500 people were killed in those bombings, the Iraqi Red Crescent has said. The provincial governor of the area has put the death toll at 344 with 70 still missing. The overall August figure of 1,773 is largely in line with civilian death tolls for most months this year. U.S. military deaths in August were 81 so far, according to the Web site icasualties.org, which tracks the number of coalition deaths in Iraq. That is roughly the same as July. During the April-June period, U.S. military deaths topped 100 each month. Washington has said the fall in the number of deaths of its soldiers was a sign its tactic of sending an additional 30,000 troops to Iraq and spreading them out in neighbourhoods was having its desired effect of reducing violence. The impact of that "surge" of troops along with Iraq's political situation will be the focus of a series of pivotal reports to the U.S. Congress in the coming two weeks. The Iraqi government statistics showed 472 militants were killed and 2,019 captured in August. More than 3,700 American troops have been killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
