WASHINGTON, Nov 29: Newspapers in the United States on Saturday described November as so far the deadliest month for American soldiers in Iraq.

At least 75 American soldiers died since the start of November, surpassing deaths recorded in any previous month since the invasion.

Since March 20, when the US-led invasion of Iraq began, a total of 436 US soldiers have been killed in that country, said the report quoting latest casualty figures released by the Pentagon.

They include 299 soldiers killed in combat, while the others died in accidents related to their work.

United States allies in Iraq also lost 75 soldiers, including 52 from Britain and 17 from Italy.

This brings the total number of coalition deaths since the war started to more than 500.

Although US authorities say they do not have statistics about Iraqi casualties in the war, reports published in the US newspapers on Saturday said at least 3,240 civilians have been killed since March 20. But the reports also said that independent observers believe the total number is much higher.

Until November, the deadliest month was April, when 73 US troops were killed at the height of the war. The single deadliest day was March 23, when 30 US soldiers died.

Media reports said it was not possible to ascertain the breakdown of combat deaths and those resulting from other causes in November. Many of the fatalities have yet to be officially designated as falling into either category, the reports added.

This includes the bloodiest single incident of the month — the collision of two Black Hawk helicopters during an anti-insurgency operation in Mosul on Nov 15 in which 17 troops perished.

While initial reports from the scene said the crash occurred when one of the choppers was struck by ground fire, the US military told reporters its investigation of the incident continues.

Over half of the United States deaths in November occurred in helicopter crashes in Mosul, Fallujah and Tikrit, while most others resulted from ambushes involving roadside bombs or rocket-propelled grenades.

Since the start of military operations, 2,094 United States service members have been injured as a result of hostile action, according to the Defence Department’s figures. The number of soldiers injured in non-hostile incidents was

350.