Opposition activists say death toll from Syria's 3-year conflict has topped 160,000

BEIRUT – An activist group says the number of people who have died in the Syrian conflict so far has exceeded 160,000.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Monday that it has documented 162,402 deaths since the fighting started in March 2011.

The Observatory says the figure includes civilians, rebels and members of the Syrian military. It also includes militiamen fighting alongside President Bashar Assad's forces, as well as foreign fighters battling with the rebels for Assad's ouster.

The Observatory bases its tally on information it gets from a network of activists on the ground in Syria.

The U.N. has stopped updating its tally of the Syrian dead, saying it can no longer verify the sources of information. The U.N.'s last count in late July was 100,000 dead.