This is a point a lot of war lovers here argue about, they always insist most civilians are killed by insurgents, im glad there's finally some offical data to put an end to this non sence, all alonge we all knew that most of the civilian deaths were being casued by trigger happy americans
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Coalition and Iraqi troops may be responsible for killing 60% more non-combatants in Iraq than the insurgents, the BBC has learned.

The civilian death toll for the last six months is contained in confidential records obtained by Panorama.

More than 2,000 civilians were killed by the authorities, while insurgent attacks accounted for 1,200 deaths.

The Iraqi Ministry of Health figures are usually available only to members of Iraq's cabinet.

The data covers the period 1 July 2004 to 1 January 2005, and relates to all conflict-related civilian deaths and injuries recorded by Iraqi public hospitals. The figures exclude, where known, the deaths of insurgents.

The figures reveal that 3,274 Iraqi civilians were killed and 12,657 wounded in conflict-related violence during the period.

Of those deaths, 60% - 2,041 civilians - were killed by the coalition and Iraqi security forces. A further 8,542 were wounded by them.

Insurgent attacks claimed 1,233 lives, and wounded 4,115 people, during the same period.

Insurgents have typically used car bombs to target Iraqi security forces, killing many civilians in the process.

Attacks have multiplied in the run-up to the election on 31 January.

Panorama interviewed US Ambassador John Negroponte shortly before it obtained the figures. He told reporter John Simpson:

"My impression is that the largest amount of civilian casualties definitely is a result of these indiscriminate car bombings.

"You yourself are aware of those as they occur in the Baghdad area and more frequently than not the largest number of victims of these acts of terror are innocent civilian bystanders".

The coalition has yet to respond to the figures.

There are no official records for the numbers of Iraqi casualties since the start of the conflict.

Unofficial estimates of the civilian toll vary from 10,000 up to 100,000.

Panorama's film Exit Strategy, reported by BBC world affairs editor John Simpson from Baghdad, will be shown at 2215 GMT, Sunday night on BBC One.


Source: BBC, 29 January 2005

Link, please

the dutch only kilt 1 iraqe and lost 5

Id still like a link for the above article, please.

Plus, as mentioned the last time when Iraqi Ministry of Health figures were distorted, the definition of "terrorist operations" is IEDs in residential areas, car bombs and assassinations. When "insurgents" set off an IED close to a US convoy, but destroy a minibus killing 12 Iraqi children, fex, these are included in "military operations". Likewise, the 1200 "insurgents" killed in the storming of Fallujah are included in "military operations".

In fact, dead Fallujan "insurgents" thus seem to make up some 60% of the death-toll ascribed to military actions.

That said:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/4217413.stm

Iraq Health Ministry Figures
On Thursday, January 27 2005, the Iraqi Ministry of Health released to the BBC's Panorama programme statistics which stated that for the six-month period from 1 July 2004 to 1 January 2005:


3,274 people in Iraq were killed and 12, 657 injured in conflict related violence
2,041 of these deaths were the result of "military operations", in which 8,542 people were injured
1,233 deaths were the result of "terrorist operations"
These figures were based on records from Iraqi public hospitals.

The BBC reported these figures as meaning that the deaths and injuries resulting from "military operations" were the result of actions by the Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces.

Today, the Iraqi Ministry of Health has issued a statement clarifying matters that were the subject of several conversations with the BBC before the report was published, and denying that this conclusion can be drawn from the figures relating to military operations.

It states that those recorded as killed in military action included Iraqis killed by terrorists, not only those killed by Coalition forces or Iraqi security forces; and that those recorded as killed in military action included terrorists themselves, and Iraqi security forces.

The BBC regrets mistakes in its published and broadcast reports yesterday.