April Considered US' Deadliest Month in Iraq Since 2009

March 23, 2011: U.S. troops stand guard outside a local journalists' union office in Basra, Iraq. (AP)

BAGHDAD -- The death of an American soldier on Friday made April the deadliest month for U.S. forces in Iraq since 2009, AFP reports.

According to a statement released by the U.S. military on Saturday, the soldier "was killed April 29 while conducting operations in southern Iraq."

The soldier's death brought the U.S.' total Iraq death tally in April to 11.

The last time the death toll was brought to 11 was in November 2009, showing the risks American soldiers still face even with operations officially declared over last summer.

Of the 11 killed, six died in "non-hostile" incidents, two were killed by a roadside bomb in Numaniyah, Wasit province, and two died in separate attacks in the provinces of Baghdad and Babil.

Around 45,000 U.S. troops remain stationed in Iraq, primarily charged with training local counterparts. They can, however, return fire in self-defense and take part in joint counter-terror operations with Iraqi forces.

Since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, Friday's casualties bring the death toll of American troops in Iraq to 4,452.