The United States has absorbed the deaths of 2,500 troops in the three-year conflict, which began when a U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein, but quickly turned sour in the face of a brutal insurgency.
Reacting to the new milestone on combat deaths, White House press secretary Tony Snow said, "It's a number." He said that Bush "feels very deeply the pain that the families feel." As the updated death toll was announced at the Pentagon, the House and Senate held moments of silence.
