Iraq says Sept deadliest month in over 2 years
2 Oct 2012 12:15 AM GMT
September was the deadliest month in Iraq in more than two years, with 365 people killed in violence that included waves of country-wide attacks, official figures released on Monday showed.
Insurgents are regarded as weaker than when violence reached its peak in 2006 and 2007, but they remain capable of carrying out mass-casualty attacks across Iraq.
The statistics compiled by the health, interior and defence ministries showed that 182 civilians, 88 police and 95 soldiers were killed in attacks in September.
Another 683 people were wounded – 453 civilians, 110 police and 120 soldiers, according to the figures.
It was the highest monthly toll given by the government since August 2010, when figures showed 426 people killed and 838 wounded in attacks.
The previous deadliest month this year was July, when 325 people were killed in attacks, according to official figures.
The worst violence of the month occurred on 8 and 9 September, when a wave of more than 30 attacks killed 88 people and wounded more than 400.
Sunday was the second-deadliest day in September, with at least 33 people killed and 106 wounded in attacks, which occurred in Baghdad and the nearby areas of Taji, Madain and Tarmiyah, and also hit Kut, Mosul, south of the northern oil city of Kirkuk, and areas around Baquba.
In Baghdad’s central Karrada district, a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-packed car, scattering debris for dozens of metres from the site of the blast, shattering store windows and smashing cars.
A headless, limbless torso surrounded by pieces of flesh lay at the scene.
‘We were sitting in the shop while police were collecting flesh,’ he said. ‘Human flesh was on the sidewalk, being collected and put in plastic bags.’
The deadly violence in Iraq and a lack of basic services are two of the main complaints against the government.  Â
Insurgents are regarded as weaker than when violence reached its peak in 2006 and 2007, but they remain capable of carrying out mass-casualty attacks across Iraq.
The statistics compiled by the health, interior and defence ministries showed that 182 civilians, 88 police and 95 soldiers were killed in attacks in September.
Another 683 people were wounded – 453 civilians, 110 police and 120 soldiers, according to the figures.
It was the highest monthly toll given by the government since August 2010, when figures showed 426 people killed and 838 wounded in attacks.
The previous deadliest month this year was July, when 325 people were killed in attacks, according to official figures.
The worst violence of the month occurred on 8 and 9 September, when a wave of more than 30 attacks killed 88 people and wounded more than 400.
Sunday was the second-deadliest day in September, with at least 33 people killed and 106 wounded in attacks, which occurred in Baghdad and the nearby areas of Taji, Madain and Tarmiyah, and also hit Kut, Mosul, south of the northern oil city of Kirkuk, and areas around Baquba.
In Baghdad’s central Karrada district, a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-packed car, scattering debris for dozens of metres from the site of the blast, shattering store windows and smashing cars.
A headless, limbless torso surrounded by pieces of flesh lay at the scene.
‘We were sitting in the shop while police were collecting flesh,’ he said. ‘Human flesh was on the sidewalk, being collected and put in plastic bags.’
The deadly violence in Iraq and a lack of basic services are two of the main complaints against the government.  Â
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