Iraqi deaths slightly down after security plan
Source: Reuters
BAGHDAD, March 1 (Reuters) - The number of Iraqi civilian deaths in February was the lowest for four months as a security plan was launched in Baghdad midway through the month, figures from Iraq's interior, defence and health ministries showed on Thursday. But at 1,645 civilian deaths, the figures provided to Reuters by ministry officials are still far above the 545 civilian deaths recorded a year ago during February 2006. The Feb. 22, 2006 attack on a Shi'ite shrine in Samarra triggered an explosion of sectarian violence in Iraq's religiously mixed areas. Communal fighting has claimed thousands of lives since, many are tortured, shot dead and dumped on the streets. The average number of bodies found in Baghdad has substantially decreased since a security plan officially began on Feb. 14. According to the figures, 28 Iraqi soldiers and 132 policemen were killed last month whilst 451 militants were killed, slightly down from January. The Iraqi government has stopped publishing casualty figures and has banned officials from giving numbers to the media, leading those who do so to request anonymity.
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