Iraqi security forces corner off the site of a suicide bomb attack at a market in the Baghdad Jadida neighbourhood in the east of the capital on September 27, 2016. AFP / SABAH ARAR
BAGHDAD: A total of 1,003 people were killed in violence across Iraq last month, according to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). In a report released Sunday, UNAMI said the fatalities included 609 civilians while 1,159 people were injured in September. Baghdad was the worst affected province with 1,127 civilian casualties (289 killed, 838 injured), the UN mission said. According to the report, a total of 394 Iraqi forces were killed and 208 injured in September. The report, however, did not include casualties from the western Anbar province, where the Iraqi army is currently engaged in battles against the Islamic state. Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Iraqi lawmaker Iskandar Witwit blamed IS for the high death toll in September. “IS is trying to make up for its losses during battles by carrying out attacks against civilians,” he said. In August, 691 people were killed and 1,016 injured, according to UNAMI. Iraq has suffered from a devastating security vacuum since mid-2014, when IS overran the northern city of Mosul before capturing additional territory in both Iraq and neighboring Syria.
