BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. military announced on Wednesday the deaths of 10 U.S. troops in Iraq on Tuesday, an unusually bloody day for American soldiers battling sectarian violence and a Sunni Arab insurgency. At least 68 U.S. troops have been killed in October -- a pace, that if continues, would make it the deadliest month for U.S. forces since January 2005. At least 2,777 have died since the invasion in 2003. After falling to 43 in July, the U.S. toll rose to 65 in August and to 71 in September. U.S. commanders, who have declared the fight for Baghdad the war's main effort, have conducted major security sweeps in the capital since August, massing neighborhoods with troops to flush out militants.
Some 15,000 U.S. troops in Baghdad are focusing efforts in the sprawling capital on curbing death squads and other armed groups. U.S. commanders have attributed the rising death toll to more aggressive patrolling in Baghdad, the epicenter of sectarian violence that kills 100 people a day.
In the worst violence on Tuesday, four soldiers were killed when their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb west of Baghdad, the U.S. military said in a statement. Roadside bombs are the deadliest weapon for U.S. troops in Iraq. Three were killed and one wounded while conducting operations in Diyala province, north of Baghdad.