At least 1,942 people were killed, and 3,324 were wounded in the various conflicts taking place across Iraq during 2020. Another 1,752 bodies were recovered from various mass graves during the year as well. Thankfully, these figures are greatly reduced from last year’s tallies. Unfortunately, the decline may be due mostly to coronavirus lockdowns and not any type of peace efforts. In 2019, at least 3,092 people were reported killed; another 22,612 were wounded; and 1,384 bodies were found in mass graves.
In general violence, which includes mostly Islamic-State related attacks or operations against them, at least 1,512 people were killed, and another 1,252 were wounded. However, some of these casualties may have occurred due to other violence. These include 323 civilian, 412 security, and 777 militant deaths. At least 475 civilians, 740 security personnel, and 37 militants were wounded.
This year, the violence also included a U.S. attack on Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani last January. That strike killed 10 people, including Soleimani, in Baghdad. The Iranian response on U.S. interests left at least 110 U.S. soldiers with injuries. Also, Iran accidentally shot down Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 during the chaos of these events; these deaths are not included in this tally.
Other Coalition losses were registered as well. At least five U.S. soldiers were killed, and seven more were wounded in both combat and non-combat incidents. One British soldier also died.
Anti-government protests continued into 2020, despite coronavirus lockdowns. During December, protests even reached into the Kurdistan region. At least 128 people were killed, and 1,942 were wounded. These figures also include security personnel killed or wounded during the protests and riots, as well as the demonstrators themselves.
In the ongoing conflict between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (P.K.K.), at least 244 people were killed, and 13 were wounded. The figures here include only casualties that occurred on Iraqi soil. At least 229 guerrillas were killed, and five were wounded. Fifteen Turkish soldiers were also killed, and eight more were wounded.
Also, at least 42 convicts were hanged on terrorism-related charges. The international community has condemned these executions over the belief that the trials were not held fairly. In some cases, the convicts may have been tortured into confessions.
Finally, at least 1,752 bodies were pulled from mass graves during the year. A large number of the victims were killed during the Islamic State occupation. However, some of the graves dated to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
