May has been the deadliest month so far this year. Antiwar.com compiled 2,249 fatalities, of which 1,075 were civilian and security member deaths. Another 1,953 people were wounded, including 87 militants.
Other sources, such as the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq, have resisted including any casualty estimates from Anbar province. Because of the dangerous security situation there, it has been impossible to get independent confirmation of the casualties. Therefore, the toll could be much higher.
Consequently, the United Nations lists only 799 dead and 1,409 wounded in other parts of Iraq, but it also acknowledges that at least 195 civilians more were killed (and 499 were wounded) in Anbar. That brings their tally to at least 994 dead and 1,908 wounded, which is in line with Antiwar’s figures–minus militant deaths.
That fatality figure, by the way, is up slightly from last month, while the number of wounded dropped considerably. April suffered from pre-election violence against civilians, while May has had to endure increasing violence between the government and militants, even outside of Anbar province. Few militant injuries are reported, because they usually take their injured with them back to their camps.
The Iraqi government also released its figures, which were 938 killed and 1,463 wounded.
In today’s violence, at least 73 people were killed and 50 more were wounded. One police dog was also wounded.
Anbar:
In Ramadi, snipers killed a female university student and wounded six others. Two soldiers were killed and two more were wounded in a clash.
A police officer and a policeman were killed, while two more policemen were wounded, in a clash in Saqlawiya.
Mortars left six dead and six wounded, including woman and children in Falluja. At least nine others were wounded in shelling. Two snipers were killed.
In Abu Ghraib, a bomb wounded an employee of a local council. Two civilians were shot dead.
Clashes left five dead, including three militants, in Haouz.
Thirty militants were killed in areas around Falluja and Saqlawiya.
Elsewhere:
A bomb killed three soldiers in Baiji. Gunmen killed five soldiers near Baiji but let their driver go unharmed.
Gunmen killed three soldiers and wounded four more in Jurf al-Sakhar.
Two teachers were shot dead in Baghdad.
A roadside bomb killed one person and wounded five more near a policeman’s house in Tuz. Another bomb wounded five people.
A bomb targeting a vehicle carrying police dogs in Qadisiya killed a policeman and wounded six others. A police dog were also wounded.
In Baquba, a civilian was kidnapped. A bomb wounded four civilians. Gunmen killed a civilian.
In Mosul, gunmen killed a civilian.
A bomb killed a government employee in Mahmoudiya.
A former swat member was assassinated in Basra.
A policeman was shot dead in Qayara.
Near Tikrit, a policeman foiled his own kidnapping and killed two gunmen.
Security forces killed a suspected militant leader near Samarra.
