Global Policy Forum

By Phil Sands

The death rate among US soldiers in Iraq has fallen since the elections, latest figures have revealed - but Iraqi civilian fatalities have spiralled upwards. American military chiefs have pointed to their reduced casualties as evidence of an improving security situation. About 60 US troops died in February compared to more than 100 in the preceding month.

But a team of senior British academics who log the civilian death rate rejected the claim and told Gulf News the violence was getting worse. Prof John Sloboda, co-founder of the Iraq Body Count group, insisted Iraqi suffering had measurably increased. His team of researchers recorded between 554 and 606 civilian deaths in February. That is equivalent of up to 21 killed each day.

In January, the number of confirmed deaths among non- combatants was between 421 and 447 - up to 14 dead per day. Last month's death rate was also higher than that logged at the same time last year, when between 530 and 545 Iraqi civilians lost their lives. Data collected by Iraq Body Count - an independent organisation set up to monitor the human cost of the war - also revealed the number of violent incidents has soared during the past 12 months.

Civilian deaths in February 2004 resulted from 37 separate recorded attacks, compared to January's 136 fatal strikes - an increase of almost 270 per cent. Prof Sloboda said: "These emerging figures speak for themselves very starkly." He also criticised the US and British administrations for failing to keep count of civilian deaths. He said, "The Iraqi people have suffered increasingly from the policies of governments who still refuse to either assess or accept responsibility for the casualties that have resulted from their actions."

In contrast, the US-led military forces in Iraq keep a careful eye on their own dead and wounded - although exact totals are still unclear. Current figures put the number of US service personal killed in the conflict at 1,520. The lack of official records on Iraq's dead have sparked political controversy in Britain and the US, with both governments accused of ignoring the war's true impact.

Fact file

Figures describe stark reality

1,520 US troops killed.
11,344 US troops wounded.
86 UK troops killed in Iraq.
91 soldiers from other nations killed.
7,061-19,432 estimated number of civilian casualties since
the war started, according to Iraq Body Count.
257 non-Iraqi civilians killed.
189 foreign nationals kidnapped since October 2003, with 47 still captive.