The latest figures for civilian deaths in Iraq suggest fewer people were killed in October compared to recent months. Is the tide beginning to turn in Iraq?
The number is put at well below one thousand for the second month running. As recently as January, nearly two thousand people were killed. Casualties among the Iraqi and the American military are also said to be down.
Correspondents say the figures are being generally attributed to the US and Iraqi troop surge in and around Baghdad that began in February.
Other key factors are the halt in operations by the Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr and the abandonment of al-Qaeda by some Sunni tribes in the west of Iraq.
How significant are the latest figures? Should the drop in violence affect US policy in Iraq, if so how? Are you in Iraq - what are your experiences of the current situation?
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