Over 700 Iraqis killed by violence in October

Over 700 Iraqis killed by violence in October
Hundreds of Iraqis have been killed and thousands injured by violence and armed conflict in the country in the last month, a United Nations report has revealed.
2 min read
02 November, 2015
Iraq's capital Baghdad was the worst affected during October [AFP]

At least 714 Iraqis have been killed by acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict, while thousands more have been injured in the last month, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq [UNAMI] said on Sunday.

According to UNAMI, 559 civilians, including 25 police officers and 155 members of security forces from Peshmerga, SWAT and militias fighting alongside the Iraqi army, were killed in October.

However, these figures do not include casualties from the ongoing military operation against the Islamic State group in the Anbar province, as the UN was unable to obtain casualty figures from the Anbar Health Directorate.

     The figures illustrate the suffering of the people of Iraq from terrorism and conflict
- Jan Kubis, UN

Iraq's capital, Baghdad, was the worst affected with around 298 civilians killed and 852 injured.

In the Diyala province, eastern Iraq, 92 were killed while 141 were injured.

In northern Iraq's Ninewa governorate, 86 people were recorded dead, while 28 were killed and 40 injured in Salahadin, north of Baghdad.

"Once again, these figures illustrate the suffering of the people of Iraq from terrorism and conflict," the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq, Jan Kubis said.

"I am hopeful that this suffering of the Iraqi people will come to an end with the support of the international community," he added.

Many other Iraqis have also died from secondary effects of violence after having fled their homes, including a lack of water, food, medicine and health care, UNAMI added, stressing that the figures from last month should be treated as a minimum number.