Iraq civilian toll continues rise

Iraq civilian toll continues rise

Sectarian attacks are part of daily life in BaghdadThe number of civilians killed in Iraq every month continues to rise, new Iraqi government figures suggest. The interior ministry says 1,930 Iraqis died last month, three-and-a-half times the number killed in January 2006. Other sources have issued significantly higher figures for civilian deaths in September and October 2006.

The figures were announced as the BBC learned President George W Bush will reveal a fresh US strategy for Iraq within days. He is expected to send more troops to the country in the hope of quelling the mounting violence. The Iraqi interior ministry statistics suggest more than 12,000 civilians were killed in violence during 2006. Half of them died in the last four months of the year.

(Click here to read more)