WASHINGTON, July 17 (Xinhua) -- The Pentagon announced on Thursday that the death toll of American soldiers killed in Iraq combat has reached 147, equaling the total of American fatalities in combat in the 1991 Gulf War.

　　The mark was reached Wednesday when a rocket-propelled g renade attack on a supply convoy killed one soldier and wounded two others. On Monday, one soldier was killed and six wounded in another convoy attack.

　　Overall, a total of 224 Americans have been killed in Iraq since the United States launched the war against it on March 20, the Pentagon said. That includes 77 accidental and other deaths that weren't the result of hostile attacks.

　　Of the 147 deaths from hostile fire, 32 have occurred since May 1, when President George W. Bush declared the conclusion of major military operations.

　　General John Abizaid, the new commander of the U.S. Central Command, said Wednesday that American troops in Iraq are facing "a classical guerrilla-type campaign" by ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's most unyielding loyalists and foreign militant groups. Military officials said US forces in Iraq come under an average of 12 attacks each day.

　　The rising casualty numbers have put more strains on American soldiers in Iraq who are uncertain about when they might be able to return home. Members of the Third Infantry Division, the longest-serving Army unit in Iraq, were quoted in television and other interviews as being openly critical of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and their mission after hearing that their complete withdrawal may be delayed until late fall. End