Iraq ? Seven American soldiers have been reported killed in combat in Iraq during July, by far the lowest monthly U.S. death toll of the five-year war.

The number of American troop fatalities in July – a total of 13 when noncombat deaths and the discovered bodies of two missing soldiers are included – is a dramatic drop from just more than a year ago, when more than 100 troops a month were confirmed dead for several months in a row.

In a brief statement at the White House early Thursday, President Bush suggested that the decreasing violence in Iraq would allow him to withdraw additional U.S. troops before he leaves office. He said that the top American commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, would make recommendations in September for “future reductions in our combat forces, as conditions permit.”