WASHINGTON (November 19, 2012)--The FBI says 72 law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty last year, up from 56 the year before.

Another 53 officers died in accidents, and 54,774 officers were assaulted in the line of duty, the FBI said.

The average age of the officers killed in the line of duty was 38.

Of the 72 slayings, 23 were killed in arrest situations, 15 were ambushed, 11 died in traffic pursuits or stops, and nine were in killed in tactical situations.

The report says 29 deaths happened in the South, 21 in the Midwest, 10 in the West, and 10 in the Northeast. The other two were in Puerto Rico.

Sixty-nine of the slain officers were men.