Associated Press BAGHDAD, Iraq — Preliminary figures show that violent deaths in Iraq dropped substantially in August from record levels the previous month, Health Ministry officials said Thursday. Most of the recorded killings were of civilians. At least 973 violent deaths were recorded throughout Iraq as of Wednesday, Dr. Riad Abdul Amir of the ministry's statistics bureau told The Associated Press. They included 715 civilians, 80 Iraqi soldiers, 74 police and 104 "terrorists," he said, apparently referring to both Sunni and Shiite militants. Accurate figures on the number of people who have died in the Iraq conflict have long been...