American deaths since the invasion of Iraq have reached 2,500, marking a grim milestone in the wake of recent events that President Bush hopes will reverse the war's unpopularity at home.

The latest death was announced as Congress was launching a symbolic election-year debate over the war, with Republicans rallying against calls by some Democrats to set a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops.

A US Army Honor Guard ceremonially folds a flag over the coffin containing the body of US Army Cpl. Sergio Antonio Mercedes Saez during his funeral in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, in this file photo from Feb. 20, 2006. The Pentagon confirmed Thursday that 2,500 US servicemen and women have died in Iraq since the war began in 2003. [AP]

The Pentagon provided no details on the nature of the 2,500th death. Nevertheless, reaching the new marker underscored the continuing violence in Iraq just after an upbeat Bush returned from a surprise visit to Baghdad determined that the tide was beginning to turn.

"It's a number," White House press secretary Tony Snow told reporters at the White House.

"Any president who goes through a time of war feels very deeply the responsibility for sending men and women into harm's way, feels very deeply the pain that the families feel. This president is no different," he said.

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