Iraq Casualties: U.S. Military Forces and Iraqi
Civilians, Police, and Security Forces
Hannah Fischer
Information Research Specialist
February 25, 2010
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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Iraq Casualties: U.S. Military Forces and Iraqi Civilians, Police, and Security Forces

Summary
This report presents U.S. military casualties as well as governmental and nongovernmental
estimates of Iraqi civilian, police, and security forces casualties.
For several years, there were few estimates from any national or international government source
regarding Iraqi civilian, police, and security forces casualties. Now, however, several Iraqi
ministries have released monthly or total casualty statistics. The U.S. Department of Defense
(DOD) releases the monthly trend of Iraqi civilian, police, and security forces deaths. In addition,
the United Nations Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has charted the
trend of civilian casualties from August 2007 to April 2009, and the United Nations Assistance
Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) reported on the number of deaths by suicide bombers in 2008.
Nongovernmental sources also have released various estimates of Iraqi civilian, police, and
security forces casualties. This report includes estimates from the Associated Press, the Brookings
Institution, Iraq Body Count, the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, Iraq Family Health Survey, the
most recent study published in the Lancet, and the British survey firm, Opinion Research
Business.
Because the estimates of Iraqi casualties 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.

Congressional Research Service

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Iraq Casualties: U.S. Military Forces and Iraqi Civilians, Police, and Security Forces

Contents
U.S. Military Casualties .............................................................................................................. 1
Iraqi Casualties ........................................................................................................................... 1
Iraq Ministries’ Data ............................................................................................................. 1
U.S. Department of Defense Data.......................................................................................... 4
Nongovernmental Data ......................................................................................................... 6

Figures
Figure 1. Iraq Ministries: Civilian and Police/Security Forces Deaths .......................................... 4
Figure 2. Department of Defense: Iraqi Civilian Deaths, January 2006 – August 2009 ................. 5
Figure 3. Department of Defense: Iraq Security Forces Deaths, January 2006 - August
2009 ........................................................................................................................................ 6

Tables
Table 1. Operation Iraqi Freedom, U.S. Fatalities and Wounded .................................................. 1
Table 2. Iraq Ministries: Civilian and Police/Security Forces Deaths, January 2008 –
December 2009........................................................................................................................ 2
Table 3. Nongovernmental Iraqi Civilian and Police/Security Forces Casualty Estimates ............ 8

Contacts
Author Contact Information ........................................................................................................ 9

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Iraq Casualties: U.S. Military Forces and Iraqi Civilians, Police, and Security Forces

U.S. Military Casualties
The following casualty data were compiled by the Department of Defense (DOD) as tallied from
the agency’s press releases. Table 1 provides statistics on fatalities during Operation Iraqi
Freedom, which began on March 19, 2003, and is ongoing, as well as on the number of fatalities
since May 1, 2003, plus statistics on those wounded but not killed, since March 19, 2003.1
Statistics may be revised as circumstances are investigated and as all records are processed
through the U.S. military’s casualty system. More frequent updates are available at DOD’s
website at http://www.defenselink.mil/news/ under “Casualty Update.”
A detailed casualty summary that includes data on deaths by cause, as well as statistics on
soldiers wounded in action, is available at DOD’s website at http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/
personnel/CASUALTY/castop.htm.
Table 1. Operation Iraqi Freedom, U.S. Fatalities and Wounded
as of February 1, 2010, 10 am EST
March 19, 2003,
May 1, 2003, to
March 19, 2003,
Fatalities
to the Present
the Present
Wounded
to the Present
Hostilea
3,478
3,360
Returned to Duty
17,728
within 72 Hours
Non-Hostileb
900
866
Not Returned to Duty
13,482
within 72 Hours
Total 4,378
4,226
Total
31,210
Source: http://www.defense.gov/news/casualty.pdf
Notes: President George W. Bush’s statement that combat operations in Iraq had ended can be found in the
Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, May 1, 2003, p. 516.
a. According to the Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms, as amended through 31
August 2005, a “hostile casualty” is a victim of a terrorist activity or a casualty as the result of combat or
attack by any force against U.S. forces, available at http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA43918.
b. The above-named reference defines a “nonhostile casualty” as a casualty that is not directly attributable to
hostile action or terrorist activity, such as casualties due to the elements, self-inflicted wounds, or combat
fatigue.
Iraqi Casualties
Iraq Ministries’ Data
In October 2009, the Iraq Ministry of Human Rights published a new report with a tally of 51,675
“martyred victims,” or civilians who have died and been identified, and 34,019 “bodies found,” or
civilians who have died but who were not identified, for a total of 85,694 civilian deaths from
2004 through 2008. 2 This total includes only those deaths due to terrorist attacks, defined as

1 Operation Iraqi Freedom will be called “Operation New Dawn” as of September 1, 2010.
2 Rebecca Santana, “85,000 Iraqis killed in almost 5 years of war,” Associated Press, October 15, 2009.
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Iraq Casualties: U.S. Military Forces and Iraqi Civilians, Police, and Security Forces

“direct bombings, assassinations, kidnappings, and forced displacement of the population.”3 In
other words, the Iraq Ministry of Human Rights does not include in its total any civilian deaths
that may have been due to coalition occupation or fighting between militias within Iraq.
Some media sources misrepresented the data by seeming to confuse the “bodies found” category
and adding it to the total of civilian deaths, which already included the “bodies found” number.
In addition to the report by the Iraq Ministry of Human Rights, the Ministry of Defense, Ministry
of the Interior, and Ministry of Health have, on an irregular and incomplete schedule, reported
monthly death 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.4
These Ministries have not, however, provided estimates of the total number of civilian deaths.
The Ministries’ statistics are provided in Table 2 and, in chart form, in Figure 1, below.
Table 2. Iraq Ministries: Civilian and Police/Security Forces Deaths,
January 2008 – December 2009
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

3 Iraq Ministry of Human Rights, “The Mechanism of a Comprehensive Periodic Review/Iraq,” October 2009.
4 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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Iraq Casualties: U.S. Military Forces and Iraqi Civilians, Police, and Security Forces

Date Civilian
Police/Security
Forces
August 2009r 393
63
September 2009s 125 78
October 2009t 343
67
November 2009u 88 24
December 2009v 306 61
Totals 7,275
1,418
Source: Prepared by CRS using noted sources below. Does not include data from the Iraq Ministry of Human
Rights report.
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.
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 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.
q. “Iraqi death toll down in July: ministries,” Agence France Presse, August 1, 2009.
r. “Iraq death toll in August highest in 13 months,” Agence France Presse, September 1, 2009.
s. “Iraq death toll falls by half in September: officials,” Agence France Presse, October 1, 20009.
t. “Iraq death toll doubles in October: officials” Agence France Presse, November 2, 2009.
u. Ammar Karin, “Iraq November death toll lowest since US invasion,” Agence France Presse, December 1,
2009.
v. “Iraq death tol in 2009 lowest since the invasion,” Agence France Presse, January 1, 2010.
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Iraq Casualties: U.S. Military Forces and Iraqi Civilians, Police, and Security Forces

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
8
8
8
8
9
9
9
9
-0
-0
-09
-0
ar
ar-0
p-0
Jan-
ay
ov-0
ay
ov-0
M
M
Jul-0 Sep-0 N
Jan
M
M
Jul-09Se
N
Date

Source: Iraqi government figures as reported in various news stories; see “Source” for Table 2, above.
Note: Does not include data from the Iraq Ministry of Human Rights report.
U.S. Department of Defense Data
DOD also tracks Iraqi civilian, police, and security forces deaths though they only release trends
and not the statistics themselves. Readers should therefore 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 these charts are estimated renditions of DOD’s original
charts. DOD’s tracking has shown an overall decline in war-related deaths from 2008 through
2009.
Until the September 2009 quarterly DOD report, Measuring Security and Stability in Iraq, two
civilian casualty estimates were given: one, a combination of coalition and Iraqi estimates, and
the other (much lower) estimate from coalition sources alone. Now, however,
As a consequence of the movement of U.S. forces out of Iraqi cities on June 30, 2009, the
U.S. has experienced reduced visibility and ability to verify Iraqi reports. Without a robust
U.S. presence, Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I) has begun reporting metrics that include
host nation reports that it may not be able to independently verify. The overall trends
between Coalition force data and host nation data are very close, but some values may
change. Current charts show a combination of Coalition and Host-Nation reported data. The
combination of these reports causes baseline numbers to increase, making it difficult to
compare these charts with those presented in previous publications of this [DOD] report.5

5 Department of Defense, Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq, September 2009, http://www.defense.gov/pubs/
pdfs/9010_Report_to_Congress_Nov_09.pdf, p. iii.
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Iraq Casualties: U.S. Military Forces and Iraqi Civilians, Police, and Security Forces

In practical terms, this has meant that, in addition to getting rid of the lower coalition casualty-
only estimate for civilians, DOD has also revised all of the security forces casualty estimates
upward. For instance, in the previous update of this report and using DOD’s charts, it was
estimated that there had been 30 Iraqi security forces deaths in May 2009. This time, using
DOD’s revised figures, it is estimated that there were 90 Iraqi security forces deaths in the same
month.
Figure 2. Department of Defense: Iraqi Civilian Deaths, January 2006 – August 2009
4000
3500
3000
2500
hs
2000
eat
D
1500
1000
500
0
6
6
6
6
6
7
7
8
8
8
8
9
9
-0
l-07
07
07
08
l-09
ar-0 y-06
ar
y-07
ar-0 y-08
ar-0 y-09
Jan-0
ov-0
ov-
ov-0
M
ep-0
ep-
ep-0
Ma
Jul-0S
N
Jan-0M
Ma
Ju S
N
Jan- M
Ma
Jul-0S
N
Jan-0M
Ma
Ju
Date

Source: CRS rendition of DOD graph, as derived from Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq, September 2009,
p.22, at http://www.defense.gov/pubs/pdfs/9010_Report_to_Congress_Nov_09.pdf. According to Measuring
Stability and Security in Iraq.
Notes: This graph “does not include civilian deaths due to accidents unrelated to friendly or enemy actions. As a
result of the June 30, 2009 withdrawal from cities, U.S forces must now rely on host nation reporting as the
primary data source.” This chart shows a combination of Coalition and host nation reported data.
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Iraq Casualties: U.S. Military Forces and Iraqi Civilians, Police, and Security Forces

Figure 3. Department of Defense: Iraq Security Forces Deaths,
January 2006 - August 2009
700
600
500
s
400
h
eat
D
300
200
100
0
6
6
6
6
6
6
7
7
7
7
8
8
8
8
9
9
-0
-0
-0
-0
-07 -0
08 -0
08 -0 -0
l-09
ar
y-0
ar-0 y-07 y-0
ar-
y-
ar-0 y-09
Jan-0
ay
ov
ov
ay
ov
M
M
Jul
Ju
Sept N
Jan-0M
Ma Jul Sept N
Jan-0M
M
Jul Sept N
Jan-0M
Ma
Date

Source: CRS rendition of DOD graph, as derived from Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq, September 2009,
p.22, at http://www.defense.gov/pubs/pdfs/9010_Report_to_Congress_Nov_09.pdf.
Notes: According to Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq, “as a result of the June 30, 2009 withdrawal from
cities, U.S forces must now rely on host nation reporting as the primary data source. Current charts now show a
combination of Coalition and host nation reported data. The combination of these reports causes baseline
numbers to increase, making it difficult to directly compare these charts with those presented in previous
publications of this [DOD] report.”
Nongovernmental Data
In 2006, researchers from Johns Hopkins University and Baghdad’s Al-Mustansiriya University
published their most recent cluster study on Iraqi civilian casualties, commonly referred to in the
press as “the Lancet study” because it was published in the British medical journal of that name.
The study surveyed 47 clusters and reported an estimate of between 426,369 and 793,663 Iraqi
civilian deaths from violent causes since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom to July 2006.6
In a more recent cluster 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.7 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

6 Gilbert Burnham, Riyadh Lafta, Shannon Doocy et al., “Mortality After the 2003 Invasion of Iraq: A Cross-Sectional
Cluster Sample Survey,” The Lancet, October 21, 2006, 368 (9545), pp. 1421-1429.
7 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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Iraq Casualties: U.S. Military Forces and Iraqi Civilians, Police, and Security Forces

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 seems to be widely cited for
violence-related mortality rates in Iraq. Neither the Lancet study nor the IFHS study distinguish
between different victims of violence, such as civilians versus police or security force members.
The studies do not reflect trends that occurred during the period of the most intense civil violence
from early 2006 through the end of 2008.
In 2007, a British firm, Opinion Business Research (OBR), conducted a survey in Iraq in which
they asked 2,411 Iraqis, “How many members of your household, if any, have died as a result of
the conflict in Iraq since 2003 (i.e., as a result of violence rather than a natural death such as old
age)? Please note that I mean those who were actually living under your roof?” Extrapolating
from their results, OBR estimated “that over 1,000,000 Iraqi citizens have died as a result of the
conflict which started in 2003.”8
The Iraq Body Count (IBC) website bases its online casualty estimates on media reports of
casualties, some of which may involve security forces as well as civilians. 9 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 February 25, 2010, the IBC estimated that between 95,428 and 104,119 civilians had died as a
result of military action. In a separate analysis of its data, the IBC also estimated that, between
January 2006 and November 2008, 4,884 Iraqi police had been killed.10
Finally, the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count (ICCC) is another 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 47,124 civilian deaths from March 2005 through
February 25, 2010, and 8,100 security forces were killed from January 2005 to February 25,
2010.11
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 December 4,
2009, 39,036 Iraqi civilians and 7,551 Iraqi police and security forces have died.12

8 The Opinion Business Research, “New analysis ‘confirms’ 1 million+ Iraq casualties,” January 28, 2008, at
http://www.opinion.co.uk.
9 Iraq Body Count at http://www.iraqbodycount.net. IBC is a nongovernmental organization managed by researchers
and volunteers.
10 Iraq Body Count at http://www.iraqbodycount.org/analysis/numbers/surge-2008/.
11 Iraq Coalition Casualty Count at http://icasualties.org/Iraq/IraqiDeaths.aspx. ICCC is a nongovernmental
organization managed by researchers and volunteers.
12 CRS discussion with the Associated Press, December 4, 2009. The AP noted that “[t]hese 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.”
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Iraq Casualties: U.S. Military Forces and Iraqi Civilians, Police, and Security Forces

Finally, the Brookings Institution has used modified numbers from the U.N. Human Rights
Report, the Iraq Body Count, the U.S. Central Command’s General David Petraeus’s
congressional testimony given on September 10-11, 2007,13 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 November 2009, 111,437 Iraqi civilians died and between June 2003 and February 16,
2010, 9,381 Iraqi police and security forces died.14
Table 3 provides Iraqi civilian, 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 and comparing
these statistics.
Table 3. Nongovernmental Iraqi Civilian and Police/Security Forces
Casualty Estimates
Source Civilians
Police/Security
Forces
Iraq Body Count
95,428 – 104,119a
4,884b (Police only)
March 19, 2003 – February 25, 2010
January 1, 2006 – November 30, 2008
Iraq Coalition Casualty Countc
47,124
8,100 (Security Forces only)
March, 2005 – February 25, 2010
January 2005 –February 25, 2010
Associated Pressd
39,036 killed
7,551 killed
58,596 wounded
8,535 wounded
April 28, 2005 – December 4, 2009
April 28, 2005 – December 4, 2009
Brookings Iraq Index 111,437
e
9,381f
May 2003 – November 2009
June 2003 – February 16, 2010
Estimate using the Multi-National
58,065 (Coalition and Iraqi Reports)g
11,560h
Corps - Iraq report, Measuring

Stability and Security in Iraq,
January 2006 – August 2009
(Security Forces only)
September 2009
January 2006 – August 2009
Opinion Business Researchi “Over
1,000,000”

March 2003 – September 2007
The Iraq Family Health Survey
151,000

(the “WHO study”)j
(May include police and/or security
forces)
March 2003 - June 2006

13 Reproduced in the Department of State Iraq Weekly Status Report, September 12, 2007, at http://2001-
2009.state.gov/documents/organization/92176.pdf.
14 Brookings Institution, Iraq Index: Tracking Reconstruction and Security in Post-Saddam Iraq, February 17, 2010, at
http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/Centers/Saban/Iraq%20Index/index.pdf.
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Iraq Casualties: U.S. Military Forces and Iraqi Civilians, Police, and Security Forces

Source Civilians
Police/Security
Forces
The Lancet, “Mortality after the
426,369 - 793,663

2003 Invasion of Iraq” k
(May include police and/or security
forces)
March 19, 2003 - July 31, 2006
Sources: Prepared by CRS using noted sources below.
a. Iraq Body Count, February 25, 2010, at http://www.iraqbodycount.org/.
b. Iraq Body Count, February 25, 2010 at http://www.iraqbodycount.org/analysis/numbers/surge-2008/.
c. Iraq Coalition Casualties Count, February 25, 2010, at http://icasualties.org/Iraq/IraqiDeaths.aspx.
d. CRS discussion with Associated Press, December 4, 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, February 25, 2010, p.
5, at http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/Centers/Saban/Iraq%20Index/index.pdf.
f.
Ibid, pg. 6.
g. Derived from Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq, September 2009, p .24. http://www.defense.gov/pubs/
pdfs/9010_Report_to_Congress_Nov_09.pdf.
h. Ibid, pg. 23.
i.
The Opinion Business Research, “New analysis ‘confirms’ 1 million+ Iraq casualties,” January 28, 2008, at
http://www.opinion.co.uk.
j.
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.
k. Gilbert Burnham, Riyadh Lafta, Shannon Doocy et al., “Mortality After the 2003 Invasion of Iraq: A Cross-
Sectional Cluster Sample Survey,” The Lancet, October 21, 2006, 368 (9545), pp. 1421-1429.


Author Contact Information

Hannah Fischer

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


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