Wednesday, July 20, 2005 - 12:00 AM
Civilian casualties tallied in Iraq war
By Alissa J. Rubin
Los Angeles Times
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Violence in Iraq left nearly 23,000 civilians dead and 42,500 injured in the two years after the U.S.-led invasion began in March 2003, according to a detailed analysis of news reports released yesterday by a pair of British-based groups opposed to the war.
Iraqbodycount.net and the Oxford Research Group added up the number of deaths reported in about 10,000 news stories for the most detailed report on civilian casualties since the war began.
The U.S. government does not track Iraqi civilian deaths, and the Iraqi Ministry of Health began to compile death records only last year.
The U.S. military issued a statement underscoring that it does not target civilians but did not challenge figures in the report.
The data cover the period from the beginning of the U.S.-led invasion on March 20, 2003, through March 19, 2005, not the last four months, which have been among the most violent.
Some key findings:
• Women and children accounted for 18 percent of the civilians killed.
• Nearly half the deaths occurred in Baghdad.
• 30 percent of the deaths occurred during the initial invasion phase.
• U.S.-led forces killed 37 percent of the victims, with the majority slain during the three-week invasion period.
• 46 percent of the victims were killed by insurgents, criminals or unknown agents.
The study's authors used the term "unknown agents" for killers whose identity could not be determined from news reports.
For instance, when three people are fatally shot outside a mosque, it is difficult to say whether it represents the act of an insurgent, a common crime or sectarian violence.
Although Iraqbodycount is critical of the war, its past reports have been recognized by experts for presenting carefully detailed data in addition to conclusions that reflect the authors' opposition to the war.
The authors said they required that each death documented by at least two news agencies to be counted.
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