a 50 percent drop. It is also about one-fifth lower than the rate experienced from the start of the war until the election. November through January marked one of the bloodiest periods of the war for U.S. forces, with the Falluja offensive in November and insurgents staging a deadly series of attacks before the election. The 137 U.S. troops killed in November was the highest monthly toll of the war, and the 107 killed in January was the third highest. The official Pentagon count released on Thursday listed 1,519 U.S. military deaths since the March 2003 invasion to topple President Saddam Hussein. It said another 11,442 U.S. troops have been wounded. Casey said he was not ready to declare the elections a "tipping point" toward victory. "We're in a good position following the elections, but ... we have a lot of work ahead to get to our final objective in Iraq," Casey said. ---SP 0302 Local Time 0002 GMT
