Deadliest month of year for Iraqis; more than 2,000 dead

Deadliest month of year for Iraqis; more than 2,000 dead
Tue Jul 1, 2014 15:54:01

The brutal attack launched by Takfiri militants in north of Iraq as well as a wave of violence across the country has left more than 2,400 people dead, the United Nations has reported.

The UN mission to Iraq said in a statement on Tuesday that the death toll includes over 1,500 civilians and nearly 890 members of security forces.

The report also said that some 2,287 Iraqis, including 1,763 civilians, were wounded during the period.

The number marks the deadliest month of year in Iraq so far.

“The staggering number of civilian casualties in one month points to the urgent need for all to ensure that civilians are protected,” UN Special Representative in Iraq Nickolay Mladenov said.

Mladenov urged Iraqi political parties to “work together to foil attempts to destroy the social fabric of Iraqi society.”

The death toll is estimated to be higher since the UN stated that the figure does not take into account casualties in Anbar Province, which is largely controlled by Takfiri militants.

May was the second deadliest month this year, with 799 Iraqis killed, including 603 civilians. April’s death toll was 750.

Iraq is currently witnessing a wave of violence unprecedented in recent years.

Over the past few days, Iraqi armed forces have been engaged in fierce clashes with the ISIL terrorists, who have overrun parts of the country in the past days and have announced a so-called Islamic caliphate in Iraq.

Senior Muslim clerics have condemned the ISIL atrocities.

SHI/SHI

string(1078) "[{"id":"1606928","sort":"3225031","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2014/06/29/alalam_635396807246956850_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Israeli PM backs “Kurdish independence” in Iraq"} ,{"id":"1606929","sort":"3225032","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2014/06/29/alalam_635396821934625470_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Iraq’s Kirkuk military facilities seized by Kurdish force"} ,{"id":"1606975","sort":"3225033","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2014/06/30/alalam_635397131435848293_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"ISIL claims formation of caliphate in Iraq, Syria"} ,{"id":"1607085","sort":"3225034","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2014/06/30/alalam_635397418786818119_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Iraq releases footage of captive terrorists confessing to crimes"} ,{"id":"1607261","sort":"3225035","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2014/07/01/alalam_635398041984426803_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Obama sends 200 more troops to Baghdad as Iraq battles ISIL"} ,{"id":"1607285","sort":"3225036","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2014/07/01/alalam_635398102366733058_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Turkey opposes Kurdish independence from Iraq"} ]"