Violence kills 849 across Iraq in January

BAGHDAD – The United Nations says violence has claimed the lives of 849 Iraqis in January, down slightly from 980 the previous month.

The U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq, known as UNAMI, said in a statement Monday that 490 of those killed in January were civilians — a number that included the federal police, civil defense forces and personal security details — while the rest were security forces, including Kurdish peshmerga and paramilitary troops.

It added that 1,157 civilians were wounded in January.

The Islamic State group seized much of northern and western Iraq, including the second largest city, Mosul, in the summer of 2014. The extremists have declared a caliphate in the areas of Iraq and Syria under their control and have imposed a harsh and violent version of Islamic law.