Iraq’s Grim Death Toll: Over 3,000 in June Alone

An average of more than 100 civilians were killed PER DAY in Iraq last month, the highest tally since the fall of Baghdad, according to the U.N. And that number has been steadily increasing since at least last summer.

So not only are things horrifically bad in Iraq, they are getting worse.

N.Y. Times:

By KIRK SEMPLE

BAGHDAD, Iraq, July 18 — An average of more than 100 civilians per day were killed in Iraq last month, the highest monthly tally of violent deaths since the fall of Baghdad, the United Nations reported today.

The death toll, drawn from Iraqi government agencies, was the most precise measurement of civilian deaths provided by any government organization since the invasion and represented a dramatic increase over daily media reports.

United Nations officials also said that the number of violent deaths had been steadily increasing since at least last summer. In the first six months of this year, the civilian death toll jumped more than 77 percent, from 1,778 in January to 3,149 in June, the organization said.

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AP / Mohammed Adnan

A brother grieved beside the coffin of a boy, who appeared to be 8 or 9 years old and was said to have died during a U.S.-led raid near Baqouba, last month at a hospital in Baqouba, Iraq. According to the U.S. military, the raid was staged in the area where terror leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi was killed. The targeted terrorists had ties to senior Al Qaeda leaders across Iraq, the military said.