UNAMI: 518 Iraqis killed, injured during July

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) More than 500 Iraqis were killed and injured during the month of July due to violence and armed conflicts, a monthly count released by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) on Tuesday said.

“A total of 241 Iraqi civilians were killed and another 277 injured in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in Iraq in July,” the UNAMI report said, noting that the security personnel casualties were excluded from the figures.

Nineveh province, according to the report, was the worst affected Governorate, with 233 civilian casualties (121 killed, 112 injured). Baghdad Governorate came in the next place with 38 killed and 85 injured.

“According to information obtained by UNAMI from the Health Directorate in Anbar, the Governorate suffered a total of 82 civilian casualties (33 killed and 49 injured),” the report said.

Ján Kubiš, the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for Iraq, decried the Islamic State for using civilians as human shields until the final moments before defeated in Mosul on July 10.

“As we commend the Iraqi forces’ humanitarian concept of operations that has put civilian protection and assistance to IDPs at the center of the battle plan for Mosul, it is imperative that the protection of civilians continues to be the top priority in the conduct of military operations going forward,” Kubiš added.

The statistics marked a drop from a total of 824 casualties in June.