With the end of Ramadan begins the tallying of casualties that occurred during the holy month. In this Antiwar.com column, at least 711 fatalities were counted from July 21 to August 18. Another 1590 Iraqis were wounded. Agence France Presse, meanwhile, recorded 409 killed and 975 wounded. AFP is one of the sources used here.
The two most violent days bookended the month. On July 23, 145 people were killed across central and northern Iraq. At the other end on August 16, 128 people were killed. The violence committed on those two days was clearly coordinated. Insurgents have long favored Ramadan for attacks.
The Antiwar.com figures were compiled from the various sources linked to each day. All deaths noted in the media are counted regardless of whether the victim was a civilian, security personnel, or a possible insurgent. Unfortunately, many sources give conflicting casualty figures, sometimes due to political considerations.
Today, at least one Iraqi was killed and three more were wounded in new attacks.
A bomb in Iskandariya killed one civilian and damaged various homes.
Near Baquba, a roadside bomb wounded three soldiers.
