October has proven to be a tumultuous month so far for the Iraqi Media. On October 1st, a car bomb was detonated near Al Rafidain TV station killing 2 and wounding 5. On October 11, the body of a journalist Azad Mohammad Hussein was found. Hussein worked for Radio Dar al Salaam, which is owned by the Iraqi Islamic Party.

And, on October 12, a slew of gunmen killed 11 employees of Shaabiya, a satellite news station in Bagdad after the station aired several test nationalistic broadcasts. Witnesses say the gunmen arrived in SUV’s with police markings and several were in police uniforms however, Iraqi Security Officers claim these uniforms were stolen. Convenient. What about the vehicle?

In a separate attack on the same day, a bomb exploded in downtown Baghdad killing 5 and wounding 10. When police and rescue crews arrived on the scene a second car bomb was detonated. An official from the Interior Ministry reports that additionally, three more people were killed and 15 wounded when a motorcycle laden with explosives discharged next to a passing police patrol.

Attacks are up 23% since August averaging at 31 per day. Militants are responding strongly to increased security measures.

And, according to Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, a Web site that monitors troop deaths, 44 American troops have been killed this month, which makes October on pace to be the third deadliest month for American forces and the month is not even halfway over.

Britain's new army chief General Richard Dannatt called for a withdrawal of the 7,500 British troops from Iraq, warning that the military's presence there only exacerbates security problems.

How many more will fall victims to the terror in the Middle East before the US withdraws?

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