June marks the deadliest month in combat related fatalities for U.S. forces in Iraq since 2009 amid fears of a rise in attacks against the U.S. military.

The most recent killing of two American soldiers in northern Iraq on Sunday raised the U.S. forces' death toll to 11 in June. Sunday's casualties raised the total death toll for U.S. forces in Iraq to 4,463 since March 2003, according to icasualties.org.
U.S. military commanders warn that there could be a rise in attacks against U.S. troops as they prepare to withdraw from war-torn Iraq. Many of the remaining U.S. military bases in southern Iraq have faced a surge in rocket and mortar attacks, a Press TV correspondent reported on Tuesday.
Analysts believe that the prolonged presence of U.S. troops in the war-ravaged country and the U.S. military officials' efforts to keep the troops in Iraq beyond December 2011 are the root causes of armed attacks on American soldiers.
“There are stories that the U.S. has been telling Iraqi officials that they would like to stay there a little bit longer and that they think they would need to keep the troops there a bit longer and that is I think why some of these violences are happening in Iraq,” Director of Peace Action Paul Martin said.
According to a security agreement between Baghdad and Washington, known as the Status of Forces Agreement, all U.S. forces will be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of 2011.
“We hear a lot about Afghanistan, but we still have 50,000 troops in Iraq and probably double that in contractors and I don't think the American people know about that,” Martin added.
Polls show the majority of Americans do not believe the U.S. should have invaded Iraq.
“We never should have gone to Iraq. I think we made up an excuse to invade, you know. I blame Bush and Cheney administration for that,” a U.S. citizen said.
In his latest radio address, U.S. President Barack Obama acknowledged that war is impacting America's fragile economy.
“After a decade of conflict we are finally bringing these wars to a responsible end and it's in the best interest of America's security and it's also in the best interest of America's economy,"" Obama said.
The cost of the Iraq war is staggering. At least 4,463 Americans have been killed and more than 32,000 wounded. Some economists have estimated the overall impact of the Iraq war on the U.S. economy at over 3 trillion dollars.
Over one million Iraqis have met violent deaths as a result of the 2003 invasion, according to a study conducted by the prestigious British polling group, Opinion Research Business.
Violence remains a daily fact of life as Iraq endures more terrorist attacks than any other country in the world.
(Source: Press TV)