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The Iraq Bulletin
In solidarity with the people of Iraq struggling under foreign occupation
News from Iraq this week: July 15 to 21
Devastating Report from UN in Iraq:
The reported number of civilian casualties continued an upward trend.
The total of civilians killed in Iraq from January-June 2006 was14338.
The Ministry of Health publicly acknowledged information stating that since 2003 at least 50000 persons have been killed violently.
The Ministry further indicated that the number of deaths is probably underreported.
 
Saturday July 15         The radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr said Friday that Iraqis would not `sit by with folded hands` while Israel struck at Lebanon, signaling a possible increase in attacks from his militia, the Mahdi Army. He said that he considered the United States culpable in the conflict unfolding in Lebanon. Anthony Cordesman, a military analyst of the Center for Strategic and International Studies said that Sadr and other radical groups or figures in the region can `broaden the conflict at minimal risk, attacking both the U.S. and Israel indirectly with considerable safety.`                                                
Sunday July 16         General David M. Walker, who heads the US Government Accountability Office, told Congress last week that `massive corruption` and `a lot of theft going on` in Iraq`s government-controlled oil industry. He said about 10 percent of Iraq`s refined fuels and 30 percent of its imported fuels are being stolen, in part because the subsidized Iraqi price of gasoline is less than half the regional price. He also noted that oil production is below prewar production.
Monday July 17         Turkey called for Iraq and the US to crack down on Kurdish guerrillas based in northern Iraq, and issued a veiled threat to attack the rebel bases in Northern Iraq if there is no progress.
Tuesday July 18         A month after the Baghdad security plan went into effect, violence has escalated in the city. The capital`s main morgue has been overwhelmed by the number of bodies brought in each day, and Iraqi security forces have been criticized for being part of the problem.
Wednesday July 19 The number of trained Iraqi soldiers and police grew from an estimated 168,670 in June 2005 to some 264,600 this June. Yet Baghdad`s morgue is receiving nearly twice as many dead Iraqis each day as it did last year. The number of bombings causing multiple fatalities has risen steadily. Attacks on American and Iraqi troops last month grew 44 percent from June 2005.
Thursday July 20            Bombings and shootings soared by 40 percent in the Baghdad area in the past week, the U.S. military said.
Friday July 21              A US aircraft fired on building in Baqouba. The bodies of two men, two women and a young girl were found in the rubble, the U.S. military said. They included two of the girl`s aunts, an uncle and a grandfather, police said. They did not know about the child`s parents.
 
 
Demonstrate Saturday September 23rd at Labour Party Conference in Manchester
 
Civilians reported killed by military intervention in Iraq since invasion*:
Minimum: 39272
Maximum: 43731
Source: Iraq Body Count
Total number of US soldiers killed in Iraq since invasion = 2559
Total number of US soldiers wounded in Iraq since invasion= 18988
Total number of UK soldiers killed in Iraq since invasion = 114
Total number of soldiers from other nations killed since invasion = 114
Source: Iraq Coalition Casualty Count
 
*This estimate is only of English language media reported deaths. A peer reviewed epidemiological survey (Roberts et al., The Lancet, Vol 364 Issue 9448 pp 1857 1864) estimated that in the 18 months following the invasion 100, 000 excess deaths or more have occurred.  Violence accounted for most of the excess deaths and air strikes from coalition forces accounted for most violent deaths. Criticisms of IBC methodology can be found at medialens
For background to the current war in Iraq: see `Understanding the Us-Iraq Crisis` by Phyllis Benis and `Why Another War? A Backgrounder on the Iraq Crisis` by Sarah Graham-Brown and Chris Toensing.
 
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