Iraqi Death Toll Hits 50,000

Posted on Jun 25, 2006

The number is 20,000 higher than previously acknowledged by the Bush administration. The L.A. Times used stats from the Baghdad morgue, the Iraqi Health Ministry and other agencies. In the same time, at least 2,520 U.S. troops have been killed.

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L.A. Times:

BAGHDAD — At least 50,000 Iraqis have died violently since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, according to statistics from the Baghdad morgue, the Iraqi Health Ministry and other agencies — a toll 20,000 higher than previously acknowledged by the Bush administration.

Many more Iraqis are believed to have been killed but not counted because of serious lapses in recording deaths in the chaotic first year after the invasion, when there was no functioning Iraqi government, and continued spotty reporting nationwide since.

The toll, which is mostly of civilians but probably also includes some security forces and insurgents, is daunting: Proportionately, it is equivalent to 570,000 Americans being killed nationwide in the last three years.

In the same period, at least 2,520 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq.

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