As the Iraqi government released its casualty figures for June, July opened with light but continued violence. Despite an obvious surge in deaths, the government said one less person died in June than in May. Today, though, at least five Iraqis were killed and five more were wounded.
The Iraqi government claimed that it only counted 131 deaths in June, 85 of them civilians. That toll is one fatality short of May’s total. Their figure, which is compiled from numbers provided by various ministries, falls short of any other count by a much larger degree. Xinxua News Agency reported at least 300 deaths in June, while Agence France-Presse put their number of dead at 282. Iraq Body Count said 457 civilians were killed. Antiwar.com’s number, which included all deaths, hit 544.
Although conflicting numbers is par for the course in Iraq, the dramatic difference between the government’s figures and the media’s is likely due to undercounting for political reasons.
Meanwhile, at least five Iraqis were killed and five more were wounded in today’s violence:
A triple bombing near a school in Tikrit left one passerby dead and two wounded. None of the students were wounded.
Gunmen in Khan Bani Saad killed a lieutenant and wounded two soldiers at an army checkpoint.
In Mosul, a judge was gunned down.
A man was killed as he was allegedly trying to plant a bomb in Baquba.
A sticky bomb killed a soldier in Ramadi.
A policeman was wounded in Gatoun when a bomb exploded.
