85000 Iraqis killed in violence from 2

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Source:nydailynews.com
85,000 Iraqis killed in violence from 2004-2008, government reports in first tally since war began

BY Helen Kennedy
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Updated Wednesday, October 14th 2009, 12:42 PM
Mourners carry the coffin of Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim during a funeral procession in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Aug. 28, 2009.
Hameed/AP
Mourners carry the coffin of Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim during a funeral procession in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Aug. 28, 2009.
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More than 85,000 Iraqis died in suicide bombings and executions after the 2003 U.S. invasion, according to the government's first official civilian death toll.

The report by Iraq's Human Rights Ministry covers the years 2004-2008 and includes Iraqi civilians, soldiers and cops, but not foreigners or insurgents or the 10,000 Iraqis listed just as "missing."

It found that 85,694 Iraqis were killed and 147,195 wounded in the years after Saddam Hussein was toppled.

"Through the terrorist attacks like explosions, assassinations, kidnappings and forced displacements, outlawed groups have created these terrible figures," the report said.

"These figures draw a picture about the impact of terrorism and the violation of natural life in Iraq."

The number of dead had been a closely guarded secret.

The Web site IraqBodyCount, which keeps track of deaths of Iraqi civilians that are publicly reported by the press or hospitals, puts the number of dead non-combatants at between 93,540 and 102,071.

The Web site's tally includes the large number of civilians who died in and after the March 2003 invasion.

The worst year was 2006, when an average of 56 people died each day from shootings and another 16 died each day in bombings.

Both the government and IraqBodyCount tallies pale beside a much-criticized 2006 report in The Lancet, a British-based medical journal, which estimated 601,000 people were killed in Iraq between 2003 and 2006.

There has been a sharp decline in attacks in the year since Washington sent a "surge" of extra troops and began concentrating on building alliances with tribal leaders.

Iraq remains one of the world's most dangerous places: on Wednesday, three simultaneous blasts in the Shiite holy city of Karbala killed at least six people and wounded 60, and eight people were killed in a massive jewelry and gold heist in Baghdad.

"We are trying to change the whole situation in Iraq, to have a democracy, to have a new government, to have the rule of law," Iraqi human rights minister Wijdan Salim told Al Jazeera.

"We hope that 2010 will be different than now," she said.

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The Dark Knight, October 14 2009, 5:31 PM

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