Iraq death toll rises to 258 in February

A total of 258 Iraqis were killed in violence in February, a sharp rise from the previous month that saw the lowest casualty figures since the 2003 US-led invasion, authorities said on Sunday. Statistics compiled by the defence, interior and health ministries showed that 211 civilians, 17 soldiers and 30 policemen lost their lives to violence across the country in February.
The death toll was up 35 percent on January's total of 191, which was the lowest figure since 2003. The latest casualty figures also showed that 456 civilians, 31 soldiers and 61 police were wounded in February.
The increase was in part attributable to a bloody February 13 suicide bombing in Iskandiriyah when at least 35 Shiite pilgrims on their way to the holy city of Karbala for a major religious ceremony were slaughtered. "Because there were several suicide attacks in February, like the incident in Iskandiriyah, the toll of the victims increased in the month," said a senior police official who asked not to be named.
In total more than 50 people died in a spate of attacks during the Arbaeen commemorations, which mark 40 days after the Ashura anniversary of the killing of Imam Hussein by Sunni caliph Yazid's armies in AD 680.
Attacks remain common in Baghdad and in provinces such as Diyala and Nineveh, where al Qaeda-linked insurgents remain active, as well as during religious festivals.
Nevertheless Iraq has in the past year seen a dramatic improvement in its security situation, and that stability, albeit fragile, is behind US President Barack Obama's decision to end combat operations in Iraq within 18 months. US counter-terrorism and training forces numbering up to 50,000 will remain in the country until a full withdrawal by the end of 2011, as agreed in a military accord signed last year between Baghdad and Washington.
In 2008, 6,772 Iraqis were killed in violence. But in January 2007 alone there were 1,992 civilians, 40 soldiers and 55 police killed. Mirroring the overall decrease in Iraqi deaths, combat fatalities among US troops fell to 314 last year, down from 904 in 2007, and reached the lowest level since the March 2003 invasion, according to website www.icasualties.org.
Sixteen US soldiers were killed in February this year, the same number as in January, for a total of 4,255 American losses in Iraq since the invasion, according to an AFP count based on www.icasualties.org. The Iraqi ministries also said that security forces killed 61 insurgents and arrested 508 in February.