Government says 85,000 Iraqis killed in 2004-08

[CptSternn]

http://tinyurl.com/ykckb35

BAGHDAD – At least 85,000 Iraqis lost their lives from 2004-2008 in violence, the government said in its first comprehensive tally released since the war began.

The report by the Human Rights Ministry came out late Tuesday as part of a larger study on human rights in the country. It said 85,694 people were killed in the four-year period, and 147,195 were wounded during the same period.

The toll counted Iraqi civilians, military and police. It did not cover U.S. military deaths, insurgents, or foreigners, including contractors or U.S. forces.

The Associated Press reported in April that government statistics tracked 87,215 Iraqi deaths from 2005-February 2009, a toll very similar to the latest figures released.

The Iraqi death toll has been a hotly disputed subject and critics on both sides of the political spectrum have accused the other side of manipulating the death numbers to sway public opinion.

As Iraq became increasingly violent following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, it also became increasingly difficult to independently track such figures on a wide scale.

The number obtained by The AP was a minimum count of violent deaths. The official who provided the data to the AP, on condition of anonymity because of its sensitivity, estimated the actual number of deaths was 10 to 20 percent higher because thousands are still missing and civilians were buried in the chaos of war without official records.

The most recent numbers from Iraq Body Count, a private London-based group that has tracked civilian casualties since the war began, puts the number of civilian casualties as of Oct. 14 at 93,540.

The latest report was based on death certificates issued by the health ministry.

Statistics the initial months of the war in 2003 have been extremely difficult to obtain as there was no functioning Iraqi government during that time and the interim Iraqi government was not seated until mid-2004.

The report described the years that followed the U.S.-led invasion, which toppled Saddam Hussein's regime, as extremely violent years.

"Through the terrorist attacks like explosions, assassinations, kidnappings and forced displacements, the outlawed groups have created these terrible figures which represent a big challenge for the rule of law and for the Iraqi people," it said.

The report also breaks down some specific numbers, saying 1,279 children and 2,334 women were killed. It also puts the death toll of the university professors at 263, judges at 21, lawyers 95 and journalists at 269 — some of the professions which were specifically targeted as the country descended into chaos.

The toll also included 15,000 unidentified bodies who were not claimed by their families and are buried in special cemeteries.

Iraq's death toll continued to climb on Wednesday when three near simultaneous blasts struck the southern Shiite holy city of Karbala. At least six people were killed, Iraqi police and medical officials said.

A police official said Wednesday the first blast took place at 4 p.m. near one of the city's two major shrines.

Two more explosions followed soon after at the second shrine, the official added.

Police said at least 40 people have been wounded in the attacks. The casualties have been confirmed by an official at the Karbala hospital.

Both the police and medical official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

Despite the dramatic drop in violence in Iraq, insurgents continue to target civilians, especially Shiites and their shrines.

[CptSternn]

That is a lot of civilian deaths.

[Still Jack]

The U.S. Military is kind of renowned for friendly fire and wasting civilians. It's not a huge surprise.

[DepthsofSpace]

To be fair, the vast majority of the casualties were not the result of NATO forces, but due to the rampant sectarian and tribal fighting.

Regardless, the extent of the loss of life in Iraq is tragic and, yes, the result of failed political and military policies.

[blindNsect]

That's not enough.

[Necrophagist]

Maybe all of the U.S soldiers should kill themselves?