Iraq violence surges in March

2008-04-01 12:43

Baghdad - The number of Iraqis killed in March rose to 1 082, up 50% on the February figure amid a spike in bombings and clashes between Shi'ite militiamen and security forces, officials said on Tuesday.

Combined figures obtained by AFP from the interior, defence and health ministries showed that the total number of Iraqis killed in March was 1 082, including 925 civilians, compared with 721 dead in February.

The jump in the March toll seems to have been caused by major bomb attacks during the month and a week of heavy fighting between Iraq's security forces and Shi'ite militiamen in Baghdad and the southern oil hub of Basra.

The figure confirms a reversal of the trend of gradually decreasing violence since June and follows tolls of 541 in January, 568 in December, 606 in November, 887 in October, 917 in September and 1 856 in August.

A total of 54 Iraqi soldiers and 103 policemen were killed in March, according to the figures.

The number of people wounded in March was 1 630 compared to 847 in February.

Last month saw a spate of bombings, including one on March 18 near a revered Shi'ite shrine in the central Iraqi city of Karbala which killed more than 50 people.

Clashes broke out in Basra on Tuesday last week between Iraq's security forces and Shi'ite militiamen loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

The fighting spread to Baghdad and other Shi'ite areas, killing at least 461 people, according to an AFP tally based on reports by security officials.

The battles eased after Sadr on Sunday ordered his fighters off the streets and clashes since then have only been sporadic.

- AFP