Iraq Casualties Spike After Massive Bombings

(AP) - At least 85,694 Iraqis lost their lives from 2004 to 2008 in violence, the Iraqi government said today in its first comprehensive tally released since the war began. Another 147,195 were wounded during that four-year period, says the Human Rights Ministry. The number includes Iraqi civilians, military, and police, but not insurgents, US troops, or other foreign forces or contractors. It also excludes the first months of the war after the 2003 invasion. More»

Violence rampant thanks to political crisis

(NEWSER) - Iraq has experienced a surge in violence since US troops left the country last month, with 327 people dying in explosions or assassinations by the Iraqi Ministry's official count. Bombings have hit Baghdad neighborhoods , Shiite pilgrims , and Sunni police, among other targets. "They are not arbitrary attacks. They are sending messages that security is not under control," one Baghdad analyst tells the Washington Post . In part, they reflect the sectarian political crisis that erupted as soon as the US left. More»

(NEWSER) - The Iraq government has tightly restricted the movements and activities of American troops remaining in cities, and some commanders blame the restrictions for a rise in attacks, the Washington Post. The day after Iraqis celebrated the pullback of US troops to outside cities, Iraq ordered the US military to cease all joint patrols in Baghdad, and move resupply convoys only at night. Military officials say they have been prevented from fully responding to attacks on US forces still engaged in training Iraqis. More»

(NEWSER) - The death toll in Iraq plunged in May, with 21 US military dead the lowest monthly figure in more than 4 years. Iraqi civilians and troopers also saw a decline, with 532 deaths in May, compared with 1,080 the month before. But in the absence of lasting political agreements, many fear this signals a breathing spell in violence rather than the start of a longer trend. More»

Civilian death toll unknown after 5 years of bloodshed

(NEWSER) - "We don't do body counts," an American general notoriously said not long after the US-led invasion of Iraq. Five years later, there is no credible count of civilian deaths in the Iraq war, the Guardian reports in a look at the wildly different estimates that have been promoted—ranging from under 100,000 to well over a million—and how they're put together. More»