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Violence in Iraq goes up despite US pull out, as freed prisoners rejoin militias
Violence in Iraq has increased since the US troop withdrawal, as thousands of ex-prisoners held by American forces rejoin insurgent groups such as Al Qaeda.
The justice ministry in Baghdad, shortly after bomb attack Photo: David Blair
By Colin Freeman
In a blow to hopes that the pull-out would remove the key catalyst for bloodshed, figures show that death rates have actually gone up since the last American soldier left Iraqi soil in December 2011.
Last year, some 4,570 civilians were killed, compared to 4,147 in 2011, according to the Iraq Body Count, the independent organisation that has analysed death rates in Iraq since the US invasion in 2003.
While the figures are far lower than during the height of Iraq's sectarian war in 2006, when more than 29,000 people died, analysts said they still presented a worrying picture of the country's direction a decade after the US-led invasion.
The upsurge in violence has been attributed mainly to al-Qaeda in Iraq, which has made a comeback in the past year after being put on the back foot during the US-led troop surge of 2007-2008.
Iraqi officials say the group has almost increased its strength to up to 2,500 fighters in the past year, up from previous estimates of only 700 when US forces left.
Violence in Iraq goes up despite US pull out, as freed prisoners rejoin militias - Telegraph
Violence in Iraq has increased since the US troop withdrawal, as thousands of ex-prisoners held by American forces rejoin insurgent groups such as Al Qaeda.
The justice ministry in Baghdad, shortly after bomb attack Photo: David Blair
By Colin Freeman
In a blow to hopes that the pull-out would remove the key catalyst for bloodshed, figures show that death rates have actually gone up since the last American soldier left Iraqi soil in December 2011.
Last year, some 4,570 civilians were killed, compared to 4,147 in 2011, according to the Iraq Body Count, the independent organisation that has analysed death rates in Iraq since the US invasion in 2003.
While the figures are far lower than during the height of Iraq's sectarian war in 2006, when more than 29,000 people died, analysts said they still presented a worrying picture of the country's direction a decade after the US-led invasion.
The upsurge in violence has been attributed mainly to al-Qaeda in Iraq, which has made a comeback in the past year after being put on the back foot during the US-led troop surge of 2007-2008.
Iraqi officials say the group has almost increased its strength to up to 2,500 fighters in the past year, up from previous estimates of only 700 when US forces left.
Violence in Iraq goes up despite US pull out, as freed prisoners rejoin militias - Telegraph
