A week after the release of a study by the Graduate Institute of International Studies estimating 39,000 Iraqis had been killed killed since the March 2003 invasion, the Iraq Body Count Project has released a new study detailing the killing of 25,000 Iraqis. The study, titled A Dossier of Civilian Casualties in Iraq: 2003-2005, found that 24,865 civilians were reported killed in Iraq during the first two years of the war (March 2003 to March 2005). The numbers were based on an analysis of over 10,000 media reports. Among the key findings:
- Women and children accounted for almost 20% of all civilian deaths.
- 30% of civilian deaths occurred during the invasion phase before 1 May 2003.
- Post-invasion, the number of civilians killed was almost twice as high in year two (11,351) as in year one (6,215).
- US-led forces killed 37% of civilian victims.
- Anti-occupation forces/insurgents killed 9% of civilian victims.
- Children were disproportionately affected by all explosive devices but most severely by air strikes and unexploded ordnance (including cluster bomblets).
- At least 42,500 civilians were reported wounded.
- The invasion phase caused 41% of all reported injuries.
The report comes on the same day that the military paper, Stars and Stripes reported that more than 25,000 US soldiers have been treated at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany for injuries incurred during the war in Iraq.
