Middle East

UN: Violence kills at least 1,119 Iraqis in March

Associated Press
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FILE - In this Wednesday, March 9, 2016 file photo, an injured woman comforts another as they wait for treatment after clashes between Iraqi Security forces and Islamic State group extremists in a village outside Ramadi, 70 miles (115 kilometers) west of Baghdad. The United Nations said unabated violence in Iraq claimed the lives of at least 1,119 people in March, a sharp increase from the previous month, as the Islamic State group stepped up attacks on civilians while suffering defeats on the battlefield. (AP Photo/Osama Sami, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Saturday, March 26, 2016, file photo, people inspect the aftermath of a suicide bombing at a soccer field in Iskandariya, 25 miles (about 40 kilometers) south of Baghdad, Iraq. The United Nations said unabated violence in Iraq claimed the lives of at least 1,119 people in March, a sharp increase from the previous month, as the Islamic State group stepped up attacks on civilians while suffering defeats on the battlefield. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Saturday, March 26, 2016, file photo, mourners chant slogans against the Islamic State group as they carry the flag-draped coffin of a soccer player killed in a suicide bombing, during his funeral procession in Najaf, 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Baghdad, Iraq. The United Nations said unabated violence in Iraq claimed the lives of at least 1,119 people in March, a sharp increase from the previous month, as the Islamic State group stepped up attacks on civilians while suffering defeats on the battlefield. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil, File) (The Associated Press)

The United Nations says violence killed at least 1,119 Iraqis in March, a sharp increase from the previous month, as the Islamic State group stepped up attacks on civilians while suffering defeats on the battlefield.

The U.N. mission to Iraq, known as UNAMI, said in a statement Friday that 1,561 Iraqis were wounded last month.

The figures include 575 civilians killed and another 1,196 wounded. The other casualties were Iraqi security forces.

The worst-hit area was the capital, Baghdad, with 259 civilians killed and 770 wounded, followed by the northern Ninevah province, which is almost entirely controlled by IS, with 133 killed and 89 wounded.

In February, there were 670 Iraqis killed and 1,290 wounded.