Baghdad: At least 849 Iraqis were killed and 1,450 wounded in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in January across Iraq, a UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said in a statement on Monday.
The statement said that a total of 490 civilians and 359 security members were killed, while 1,157 civilians, including 47 civilian policemen, and 293 security members, were wounded.
The UNAMI excluded the casualties in Anbar province where fierce clashes were underway between the Iraqi forces and the Islamic State militant group which has seized most of the province, Xinhua reported.
“In general, the UNAMI has been hindered in effectively verifying casualties in conflict areas,” it said, adding that “the figures reported have to be considered as the absolute minimum.”
It added that there are an unknown number of people who died from secondary effects of violence after having fled their homes due to exposure to the elements, lack of water, food, medicine and health care.
According to the statement, Iraqi capital Baghdad was the worst affected province with 1,084 civilian casualties, including 299 killed and 785 injured, while the provinces of Diyala, Nineveh, Kirkuk and Salahudin followed in the list.
Iraq is currently witnessing a wave of violence since the IS terrorist group took control of parts of the country’s northern and western regions in June 2014.
IANS