(AP) U.N.: 34,452 Iraq civilians killed in '06

[Eugene]

Posted on Tue, Jan. 16, 2007

U.N.: 34,452 Iraq civilians killed in '06
SAMEER N. YACOUB
Associated Press

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Nearly 35,000 civilians were killed last year in Iraq, the United Nations
said Tuesday, a sharp increase from the numbers reported previously by the Iraqi
government.

Gianni Magazzeni, the chief of the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq, said 34,452 civilians
were killed and 36,685 were wounded last year.

Iraqi government figures in early January put last year's civilian death toll at 12,357.
When asked about the difference, Magazzeni said the U.N. figures were compiled from
information obtained through the Iraqi Health Ministry, hospitals across the country and
the Medico-Legal Institute in Baghdad.

-snip-

The Iraqi Health Ministry could not immediately be reached for comment, but the
government has disputed previous figures released by the U.N. as "inaccurate and
exaggerated."

-snip-

Full article: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/16470463.htm