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Baghdad casualties rise in September
Despite a security crackdown in the capital, 400 more civilians were killed than in August.
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published October 12, 2006
BAGHDAD - More than 2,660 Iraqi civilians were killed in Baghdad in September, according to new Health Ministry figures - 400 more than the month before despite an intensified U.S.-Iraqi sweep aimed at reining in violence. The numbers indicate how tough the vital battle to secure Baghdad has proven amid a wave of bloodshed this year, not only from Sunni Arab insurgents but also from Shiite and Sunni death squads that kidnap and kill members of the opposing sect. No cumulative figures for Iraqi deaths in October have been released. But several times this month, police have reported finding 50 to 60 bodies dumped around Baghdad over a 24-hour period, suggesting the bloodshed has not waned. Since Aug. 7, thousands of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers have been pursuing Operation Together Forward in Baghdad, moving from district to district and searching building by building to clear out weapons and hunt down militia members and insurgents. They have seized more than 1,700 weapons and arrested more than 120 people. They have also staged raids on prominent militia figures. But the numbers from the Iraqi Health Ministry suggested that by the end of September, the sweep had yet to slow the bloodshed. A total of 2,667 civilians in Baghdad died violent deaths during September, two senior Health Ministry officials told the Associated Press this week, based on an official monthly report from the ministry to the Cabinet. By comparison, 2,222 people died violently in August in Baghdad, according to a U.N. report published in September, which was also based on official statistics from the Health Ministry. The two ministry officials said the U.N. number was accurate. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the government has issued orders that the death figures not be released.
[Last modified October 12, 2006, 01:28:05]
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