The deaths of 76 U.S. troops in July was one of the lowest 30-day tolls in months, the U.S. military reported Tuesday, even as the admiral named to be the country’s top military leader predicted the United States will be in Iraq for “years, not months,” and another Pentagon official said the war was costing even more than expected.Three U.S. soldiers were killed and six wounded Tuesday by a sophisticated armor-piercing bomb in eastern Baghdad, the U.S. military said today.

The U.S. military said Tuesday a Marine died Monday in Anbar province west of Baghdad, bringing to 3,655 the number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq. Meanwhile, reported Iraqi deaths rose 23 percent in the month of July over June, with at least 2,024 civilians, government officials and security forces killed.

U.S. deaths had spiked in recent months as the military fanned out into insurgent strongholds under President Bush’s buildup of 28,500 more troops to help reduce sectarian violence so that Iraqi leaders could find a political settlement.