The total number of Iraqi civilians and security force personnel killed in violence last year was higher than the previous year, according to official statistics released on Saturday.
Figures compiled by the defense, interior and health ministries indicated that 151 people — 89 civilians, 41 police and 21 soldiers — were killed last month.
According to a tally based on figures from the three ministries released during the course of last year, a total of 3,605 Iraqi civilians, police and army personnel were killed last year — 124 more than the 3,481 who were killed in 2009.
Violence for both years is still far lower than in the past — for instance, 6,798 people were killed in 2008 and 17,956 in 2007, according to tallies based on government figures from those years.
While the total number of people killed in violence went up from 2009 to last year, the number of civilians killed dropped, the figures showed.
According to the tally, a total of 2,505 civilians were killed last year — down 295 on the 2,800 the year before.
The rise in last year’s death toll was because of an increased number of security force personnel killed — 215 more policemen and 204 more soldiers than the previous year.
Iraqi security forces have been increasingly on their own as the US has decreased the number of troops it has deployed in the country and shifted its focus from combat to training and advising Iraqi troops.
About 50,000 US troops remain in the country, but a security accord between Baghdad and Washington requires that they be withdrawn by the end of this year.
The official statistics released on Saturday also show that 271 people were wounded last month — 114 civilians, 77 police and 80 soldiers.
That brings the total number of wounded for last year to 7,713 — significantly lower than the previous year’s total of 10,562.
The total death toll for last month was the lowest since November 2009, and the sixth month in a row with a lower death toll than the one before.
The government figures also indicate that 34 insurgents were killed last month, bringing the total to 710 for the year.
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