Baghdad, October 15: Iraq’s government says more than 85,000 people have died from 2004 to 2008 in violence-related incidents, following the US invasion of the country.
The late Thursday figure, which is the first estimate released by Iraq’s Ministry of Human Rights, includes violence-related death ranging from catastrophic bombings to execution-style slayings.
Based on death certificates issued by the Ministry of Health, 1,279 children, 2,334 women, 263 university professors, 21 judges, 95 lawyers and 269 journalists were among the deaths.
The official results answer one of the biggest questions of the conflict, while it still does not say how many died in the months of chaos that followed the 2003 US invasion.
“Through the terrorist attacks like explosions, assassinations, kidnappings and forced displacements, the outlawed groups have created these terrible figures which represent a big challenge for the rule of law and for the Iraqi people,” the report said.
The report added that nearly 150,000 Iraqis including civilians, military and police officers, were wounded in the same period.
It described the years that followed the invasion which toppled Saddam Hussein’s regime, as extremely violent.
—–Agencies