The deaths of six more US troops have made 2007 the deadliest year for American forces in Iraq, despite there being almost two months of it left.

The US military said on Tuesday that the deaths took the total for 2007 to 853, the previous highest toll was 849 in 2004.

"We lost five soldiers yesterday in two unfortunate incidents. Both involving IEDs [improvised explosive devices]. There is still much danger out there," Rear Admiral Gregory Smith, US military spokesman, said.

Another statement said a sailor had died after a blast in the Salaheddin province.

The record was reached despite a significant drop in fatalities last month.

 

Thirty-eight were reported in October, the lowest since March 2006.

Iranians 'to be released'

Separately, the US military official announced that nine Iranian held in Iraq would be released after Tehran vowed to take measures to halt the flow of arms to its neighbour.

 

"It is our intent to release nine Iranians currently in custody in the near future. They will be released in the coming days," Smith said.

"Two of them were detained in Erbil in January of this year."

US forces say the five men seized in the northern city were held on suspicion of being members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' elite Qods force.

Iran has insisted that they are diplomats and has demanded their release.

"These individuals have been assessed to be of no continuing value, nor do they pose a further threat to Iraqi security," Smith said.

Hoshiyar Zebari, Iraq's foreign minister, welcomed the announcement, saying it was a confidence-building measure that would encourage more productive talks between Iran, Iraq and the US.

"We have tried very hard with the American military and the embassy to release them. We are very pleased now that a decision has been made," he told the Reuters news agency.

Consulates opened

On Tuesday, Iran opened two consulates in Iraq, a facility in Erbil that was shut by American forces after January's raid, and a second in Sulaimaniya, the largest city in the Kurdish zone.

The Iranian ambassador used the occassion to condemn the US raid on the building.

Hassan Kazemi Qomi said: "The American forces breached Iraqi sovereignty by detaining the five Iranian diplomats at this same office in Erbil.

"Iran has strong ties with Iraqi society and opening these consulates will strengthen these ties. It will also strengthen commerce and travel between the two sides."

Washington has accused Tehran of training Shia militias in Iraq and supplying them with weapons including roadside bombs. Iran has rejected the charge and blames the violence on the US-led invasion in 2003.

Ryan Crocker, US ambassador to Iraq, has held three rounds of talks this year with his Iranian counterpart on security in Iraq. On Saturday, he said that he expected a further round of meetings in the next few weeks.