Iraqi Civilian, Police, and Security Forces
Casualty Statistics
Hannah Fischer
Information Research Specialist
September 17, 2009
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
R40824
CRS Report for Congress
P
repared for Members and Committees of Congress

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Iraqi Civilian, Police, and Security Forces Casualty Statistics

Summary
This report presents various governmental and nongovernmental estimates of Iraqi civilian,
police, and security forces fatalities. The Iraq government is releasing increasingly regular data on
these deaths. The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) releases the monthly pattern of Iraqi
civilian, police, and security forces deaths, and it regularly updates total U.S. military deaths and
wounded statistics from Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), as reflected in CRS Report RS21578,
Iraq: U.S. Casualties, by Susan G. Chesser. Because the estimates contained in this report are
based on varying time periods and have been created using differing methodologies, readers
should exercise caution when using them and should look to them as guideposts rather than as
statements of fact.
This report will be updated as needed.

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Iraqi Civilian, Police, and Security Forces Casualty Statistics

Contents
Iraqi Ministries Data ................................................................................................................... 1
U.S. Department of Defense Data................................................................................................ 2
Government, Academic, Media, and Nonprofit Data.................................................................... 4

Figures
Figure 1. Iraq Ministries: Civilian and Police/Security Forces Deaths .......................................... 2
Figure 2. Department of Defense: Iraqi Civilian Deaths, January 2006 - May 2009...................... 3
Figure 3. Department of Defense: Iraq Security Forces Deaths, January 2006 - May 2009 .......... 4

Tables
Table 1. Iraq Ministries: Civilian and Police/Security Forces Deaths............................................ 1
Table 2. Academic, Media, and Nonprofit Iraqi Civilian, Police, and Security Forces
Casualty Estimates ................................................................................................................... 6

Contacts
Author Contact Information ........................................................................................................ 7

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Iraqi Civilian, Police, and Security Forces Casualty Statistics

Iraqi Ministries Data
For several years, the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, Ministry of the Interior, and Ministry of Health
have, on an irregular and incomplete basis, reported deaths statistics for Iraqi civilians, police,
and security forces. The process of collecting and distributing such data on the deaths of civilians,
police, and security forces seems now to have become more standardized, and over the past year,
all three ministries have regularly released similar information to the news media, though not in
the form of official press releases.1
Table 1. Iraq Ministries: Civilian and Police/Security Forces Deaths
Date
Civilian Police/Security
Forces
January 2008a 463
78
February 2008b 633 85
March 2008c 923
156
April 2008
N/A
N/A
May 2008d 504
59
June 2008
N/A
N/A
July 2008e 387
78
August 2008f 383
48
September 2008g 359 81
October 2008h 278 40
November 2008i 297 43
December 2008j 240 76
January 2009k 140
51
February 2009l 211
47
March 2009m 185
67
April 2009n 290
65
May 2009o 134
31
June 2009p 370
68
July 2009q 223
52
Totals 6,020
1,125
Source: Prepared by CRS using noted sources below.
a. “Iraqi civilian deaths down in Jan to 23 month low,” Dow Jones International News, February 1, 2008.
b. Paul Tait, “Iraq Wrapup 3 -Iraq casualties rise again after Qaeda bombs,” Reuters, March 1, 2008.
c. “Iraqi casualties at highest level since mid-2007,” Reuters, April 1, 2008.
d. “Iraq violence dips as U.S. records lowest monthly toll,” Agence France Presse, June 1, 2008.

1 News reports continue to differ slightly. For instance, August 2009 articles differed on whether there were 223 or 224
Iraqi civilian deaths in July 2009. Also, data from April and June 2008 are missing.
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Iraqi Civilian, Police, and Security Forces Casualty Statistics

e. “Iraq monthly toll down,” Agence France Presse, September 1, 2008.
f.
Ibid.
g. “Iraq violence kills 440 in September,” Agence France Presse, October 1, 2008.
h. Tina Susman, “World; U.S., Iraqi deaths dip in October,” Los Angeles Times, November 1, 2008.
i.
“Iraq death toll rises in November,” Agence France Presse, December 1, 2008.
j.
Salam Faraj, “Iraq hails lowest monthly death toll in nearly three years,” Agence France Presse, January 1,
2009.
k. “Iraq death toll ‘lowest since invasion,’” Agence France Presse, February 1, 2009.
l.
Ammar Karim, “Iraq death tol rises to 258 in February: ministries,” Agence France Presse, March 1, 2009.
m. “March violence claims claims 252 Iraqi lives,” Agence France Presse, April 1, 2009.
n. “April toll in Iraq the deadliest for seven months,” Agence France Presse, May 1, 2009.
o. Sameer N. Yacoub, “May sees dramatic drop in Iraq deaths following bloodiest month of the year; Bombing
kills four in Baghdad Monday, signaling capital is far from secure,” Associated Press, June 2, 2009.
p. Liz Sly,”June death tol of Iraqis is highest in 11 months; The sharp increase in fatalities could be tied to the
U.S. troop withdrawal from cities,” The Los Angeles Times, July 2, 2009, p. A-24.
q. “Iraqi death toll down in July: ministries,” Agence France Press, August 1, 2009.
Figure 1. Iraq Ministries: Civilian and Police/Security Forces Deaths
1000
900
800
700
600
s
th
Civilian
a
500
Police/Security Forces
De
400
300
200
100
0
08
8
08
8
08
08
9
9
-0
09
ar-0
p-
n-0
ar
Jan-
ay-
ov-
ay-
M
M
Jul-0 Se
N
Ja
M
M
Jul-09
Date

Source: Various news stories; see “Source” for Table 1, above.
U.S. Department of Defense Data
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) also tracks Iraqi civilian, police, and security forces
deaths and their statistics also show an overall decline in war-related deaths from 2008 to 2009.
According to the Los Angeles Times, “The U.S. military says insurgents are no longer capable of
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sustaining prolonged assaults and instead focus on generating bursts of bloodshed. A comparison
between the half-yearly figures for this year and last makes it clear that the level of violence is in
steep decline. In the first six months of 2008, 4,514 Iraqis died violently; in the first half of this
year, that figure fell to 1,657.”2
Readers should note that DOD has not released the specific numbers associated with either
Figure 2, on Iraqi civilian deaths, or Figure 3, on Iraqi Security Forces Deaths, and that instead
they are estimated renditions of DOD’s original charts.
Figure 2. Department of Defense: Iraqi Civilian Deaths, January 2006 - May 2009
4000
3500
s
3000
h
eat
2500
D
Estimated Deaths
Coalition and Iraqi
2000
lian
Reports
ivi
Estimated Deaths
1500
i C
Coalition Reports Only
Iraq
1000
500
0
6
6
6
7
7
7
8
8
9
9
-0
-06
-07
-08
-08
-0
pr
ct
pr
ct-0
pr-0
ct
pr
Jan-0 A
Jul-0 O
Jan-0 A
Jul-0 O
Jan A
Jul-0 O
Jan-0 A
Date

Source: CRS rendition of DOD graph, as derived from Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq, July 2009, p.24.
http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/pdfs/9010_Report_to_CongressJul09.pdf. Multi-National Corps - Iraq Strategic
Plans Assessments Iraq Significant Activities (SIGACTS) III database (Coalition Reports Only) and (Coalition and
Iraqi Reports) as of February 2009.

2 Liz Sly, “June death toll of Iraqis is highest in 11 months; The sharp increase in fatalities could be tied to the U.S.
troop withdrawal from cities,” The Los Angeles Times, July 2, 2009, p. A-24.
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Figure 3. Department of Defense: Iraq Security Forces Deaths,
January 2006 - May 2009
350
300
ths
a
e
250
D
ees
rc
200
o
F
150
rity
cu
e
100
i S
Iraq
50
0
6
06
6
6
7
7
8
8
8
9
-0
-06 -0
-06
07
07
-0
-07 -0
-07
08 -0
-08 -0
-08
09
09
-0
ar-
ar-
ar-
ar-
Jan-0
ay
ov
ay
ov
ay
ov
ay
M
M
July ept
ept
ept
S
N
Jan- M
M
July S
N
Jan-0M
M
July S
N
Jan- M
M
Date

Source: CRS rendition of DOD graph, as derived from Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq, July 2009, p.23.
http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/pdfs/9010_Report_to_CongressJul09.pdf.
Government, Academic, Media, and Nonprofit Data
In addition to the government sources, a number of academic, media, and nonprofit groups have
released unofficial estimates of Iraqi civilian, police, and security forces deaths. In one study, a
team of investigators from the Federal Ministry of Health in Baghdad, the Kurdistan Ministry of
Planning, the Kurdistan Ministry of Health, the Central Organization for Statistics and
Information Technology in Baghdad, and the World Health Organization formed the Iraq Family
Health Survey (IFHS) Study Group to research violence-related mortality in Iraq.3 In their
nationally representative cluster study, interviewers visited 89.4% of 1,086 household clusters;
the household response rate was 96.2%. They concluded that there had been an estimated 151,000
violence-related deaths from March 2003 through June 2006 and that violence was the main
cause of death for men between the ages of 15 and 59 years during the first three years after the
2003 invasion. This study did not distinguish different victims of violence, such as civilians
versus police or security force members.
The Associated Press has kept a database of Iraqi civilian, police, and security forces dead and
wounded since April 2005. According to its database, between April 28, 2005, and August 6,
2009, 38,150 Iraqi civilians and 7,348 Iraqi police and security forces have died.4

3 Iraq Family Health Survey Study Group, “Violence-Related Mortality in Iraq from 2002 to 2006,” The New England
Journal of Medicine, January 31, 2008, pp. 484-492.
4 CRS discussion with Associated Press, August 6, 2009. They noted that “[t]hese numbers are considered a minimum,
(continued...)
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Iraqi Civilian, Police, and Security Forces Casualty Statistics

The Iraq Body Count (IBC) bases its online casualty estimates on media reports of casualties,
some of which may involve security forces as well as civilians. Using media reports as a base for
casualty estimates can entail errors: some deaths may not be reported in the media, while other
deaths may be reported more than once. The IBC documents each of the civilian casualties it
records with a media source and provides a minimum and a maximum estimate. As of September
15, 2009, the IBC estimated that between 93,096 and 101,596 civilians had died as a result of
military action.5 In a separate analysis of their data, the IBC also estimated that, between January
2006 and November 2008, 4,884 Iraqi police had been killed.6
The Brookings Institution has used modified numbers from the United Nations Human Rights
Report, the Iraq Body Count, General Petraeus’s congressional testimony given on September 10-
11, 2007,7 and other sources to develop its own composite estimate for Iraqi civilians, police, and
security forces who have died by violence. By combining all of these sources by date, the
Brookings Institution estimates that between May 2003 and July 16, 2009, 110,578 Iraqi civilians
have died and between June 2003 and July 16, 2009, 9,136 Iraqi police and security forces have
died.8
Finally, the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count (ICCC) is another well-known nonprofit group that
tracks Iraqi civilian and Iraqi security forces deaths using an IBC-like method of posting media
reports of deaths. ICCC, like IBC, is prone to the kind of errors likely when using media reports
for data: some deaths may not be reported in the media, whereas other deaths may be reported
more than once. The ICCC estimates that there were 46,058 civilian deaths from March 2005
through August 24, 2009, and 7,893 security forces killed from January 2005 to August 24, 2009.9
Table 2 provides Iraqi security forces and police officers casualty estimates from
nongovernmental sources, as well as an estimate of deaths using the charts in Figure 2 and
Figure 3. These estimates are based on varying time periods and have been created using
differing methodologies, and therefore readers should exercise caution when using these
statistics.

(...continued)
based on AP reporting. The actual number is likely higher, as many killings go unreported or uncounted. We tally
civilian, Iraqi military and Iraqi police deaths each day as reported by police, hospital officials, morgue workers and
verifiable witness accounts. The security personnel include Iraqi military, police and police recruits, and bodyguards.
Insurgent deaths are not included.”
5 Iraq Body Count at http://www.iraqbodycount.net. IBC is a nongovernmental organization managed by researchers
and volunteers.
6 Iraq Body Count at http://www.iraqbodycount.org/analysis/numbers/surge-2008/.
7 Replicated in the Department of State Iraq Weekly Status Report, September 12, 2007, at http://2001-2009.state.gov/
documents/organization/92176.pdf.
8 Brookings Institution, Iraq Index: Tracking Reconstruction and Security in Post-Saddam Iraq, July 16, 2009, p. 4, at
http://www.brookings.edu/saban/~/media/Files/Centers/Saban/Iraq%20Index/index.pdf.
9 Iraq Coalition Casualty Count at http://icasualties.org/Iraq/IraqiDeaths.aspx. ICCC is a nongovernmental organization
managed by researchers and volunteers.
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Iraqi Civilian, Police, and Security Forces Casualty Statistics

Table 2. Academic, Media, and Nonprofit Iraqi Civilian, Police, and Security Forces
Casualty Estimates
Source Civilians
Police/Security
Forces
Iraq Body Count
93,096 – 101,596a
4,884b (Police only)
March 19, 2003 – September 15, 2009 January 1, 2006 – November 30, 2008
Iraq Coalition Casualty Countc
46,058
7,893 (Security Forces only)

March, 2005 – August 24, 2009
January 2005 – August 24, 2009
Associated Pressd
38,150 killed
7,348 killed

55,501 wounded
8,418 wounded
April 28, 2005 – August 6, 2009
April 28, 2005 – August 6, 2009
Brookings Iraq Index
110,578e
9,136f

June 2003 – July 16, 2009
June 2003 – July 16, 2009
CRS estimate using the Multi-
57,370 (Coalition and Iraqi Reports)g
6,168h (Security Forces only)
National Corps - Iraq report,
Measuring Stability and Security in
26,825 (Coalition Reports)

Iraq, June 2009
January 2006 – May 2009
January 2006 – May 2009
The Iraq Family Health Study (the
151,000

“WHO study”)i

(May include police and/or security
forces)
March 2003 - June 2006
Sources: Prepared by CRS using noted sources below.
a. Iraq Body Count, August 24, 2009, at http://www.iraqbodycount.org/.
b. Iraq Body Count, August 24, 2009, at http://www.iraqbodycount.org/analysis/numbers/surge-2008/.
c. Iraq Coalition Casualties Count, August 24, 2009, at http://icasualties.org/Iraq/IraqiDeaths.aspx.
d. CRS discussion with Associated Press, August 6, 2009. The Associated Press notes: “These numbers are
considered a minimum, based on AP reporting. The actual number is likely higher, as many killings go
unreported or uncounted. We tally civilian, Iraqi military and Iraqi police deaths each day as reported by
police, hospital officials, morgue workers and verifiable witness accounts. The security personnel include
Iraqi military, police and police recruits, and bodyguards. Insurgent deaths are not included.”
e. Brookings Institution, Iraq Index: Tracking Reconstruction and Security in Post-Saddam Iraq, July 16, 2009, p. 5, at
http://www.brookings.edu/saban/iraq-index.aspx.
f.
Brookings Institution, Iraq Index: Tracking Reconstruction and Security in Post-Saddam Iraq, July 16, 2009, p. 6, at
http://www.brookings.edu/saban/iraq-index.aspx.
g. Derived from Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq, June 2009, p.24. http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/pdfs/
9010_Report_to_CongressJul09.pdf
h. Derived from Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq, June 2009, p.23. http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/pdfs/
9010_Report_to_CongressJul09.pdf. Multi-National Corps - Iraq Strategic Plans Assessments Iraq Significant
Activities (SIGACTS) III database (Coalition Reports Only) and (Coalition and Iraqi Reports) as of February
2009.
i.
Iraq Family Health Survey Study Group, “Violence-Related Mortality in Iraq from 2002 to 2006,” The New
England Journal of Medicine, January 31, 2008, pp. 484-492.

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Iraqi Civilian, Police, and Security Forces Casualty Statistics

Author Contact Information

Hannah Fischer

Information Research Specialist
hfischer@crs.loc.gov, 7-8989




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