85, 000 Iraqis Killed in Almost 5 Years of War

[kpete]

Source: Associated Press

85, 000 Iraqis Killed in Almost 5 Years of War

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: October 14, 2009

Filed at 5:37 p.m. ET

BAGHDAD (AP) -- Iraq's government said at least 85,000 people were killed from 2004 to 2008, officially answering one of the biggest questions of the conflict -- how many perished in the sectarian violence that nearly led to a civil war.

What remains unanswered is how many died in the 2003 U.S. invasion and in the months of chaos that followed it.

A report by the Human Rights Ministry said 85,694 people were killed from the beginning of 2004 to Oct. 31, 2008 and 147,195 were wounded. The figures included Iraqi civilians, military and police but did not cover U.S. military deaths, insurgents, or foreigners, including contractors. And it did not include the first months of the war after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

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Combined with tallies based on hospital sources and media reports since the beginning of the war and an in-depth review of available evidence by the AP, the figures showed that more than 110,600 Iraqis had died in violence since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and up through early 2009.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/10/14/world/AP-ML-Iraq.html?_r=2