At least 17,049 civilians were recorded killed in Iraq during 2014, Iraq Body Count said, roughly double the number recorded in 2013which in turn was about double that of the previous year.
The shocking rise in deaths in 2014 is due in large part to the ISIS offensive and the military response to it by Iraqi forces and the U.S.-led international coalition, the group said.
Based in London and made up of academics and human rights and anti-war activists, Iraq Body Count monitors and compiles media reports of Iraqi civilian casualties resulting from the violence that followed the U.S.-led 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Since that invasion, “not a single day has passed without Iraqi civilians being killed,” it said. “The year 2014, however, reflects an increase in violence to levels not seen since the worst years of 2006 and 2007.”
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“The truth probably lies somewhere between these two numbers, but neither can be ruled out at present,” Iraq Body Count said.
Taking that variation into account, between 21,000 and 47,000 people were killed in war-related violence in Iraq during 2014, it said. That makes it the third-deadliest year since the invasion, after 2006 and 2007.
