Violent deaths in Iraq fell by a third in July, the first month that Iraqi police and troops were in charge of security in urban areas since the 2003 US-led invasion, official figures showed Saturday.

A total of 275 Iraqis lost their lives last month, according to statistics compiled by the interior, defence and health ministries, compared to 437 deaths in June.

Two hundred and twenty-three Iraqi civilians, 40 police and 12 soldiers died in July, while 975 civilians, 93 police and 35 soldiers were wounded in attacks, according to the figures.

Overall, 400 insurgents and militiamen were arrested by Iraq's security forces, while 41 were killed, the figures showed.

In another sign that violence levels have ebbed, the number of US soldiers killed in July dropped to seven, the lowest monthly toll since the invasion, according to an AFP tally based on independent website icasualties.org.

The previous lowest monthly toll of US casualties was nine dead in March this year.

US troops pulled out of towns and cities in Iraq on June 30 as part of a landmark deal between Baghdad and Washington that calls for all American forces to leave the country by the end of 2011.

Violence increased in the run-up to the pullout, leading in June to the highest Iraqi death toll in 11 months. The figure in May was 155, the lowest of any month since the 2003 invasion.

Iraq's 500 000 police and 250 000 soldiers are now in charge of security in cities, towns and villages, while most of the 128 000 US troops remaining in the country are based outside towns and cities.

The decline in violence prompted US Defence Secretary Robert Gates to tell reporters on a trip to Iraq last week that there was "at least some chance for a modest acceleration" of plans for the military drawdown this year.

In two key tests of their ability to handle their newfound responsibilities, Iraqi security forces last month successfully secured Baghdad's first international football match since the invasion as well as a major Shiite pilgrimage in the capital.

Despite the decrease in levels of unrest, Iraq is still plagued by violence and July saw devastating attacks, including a double suicide bombing in the northern town of Tal Afar on July 9 that killed 35 people.

On Friday, 29 people were killed and 136 wounded in a wave of apparently coordinated bombings targeting Shiite Muslim worshippers at mosques across Baghdad.

Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the head of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, condemned those attacks in a statement Saturday, branding them "heinous provocations" and called on Iraqi leaders to emphasise solidarity "against any attempt to stir sectarian divide."

And in a pre-dawn bank robbery in central Baghdad last week, robbers — allegedly led by two senior soldiers — made off with US$3.8-million and executed the bank's eight police guards in one of Iraq's biggest ever heists. The money has since been recovered and three people arrested.

Sectarian bloodshed engulfed Iraq in 2006 and 2007, killing tens of thousands of people.

A senior US commander warned on Thursday that security forces would have to be watchful of violence targeting parties and politicians in the run-up to general elections next January.

"Leading up to the elections, we're also going to see some politically motivated violence," Colonel Tobin Green told reporters in Baghdad.

AFP