Iraq violence between 2004 and 2011

The Iraqi government said on Wednesday that 69,263 people had been killed in violence between 2004 and 2011 -- significantly less than figures from other sources, including one of its own ministries. "Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh announced that the number of victims... from April 5, 2004 to December 31, 2011 reached 69,263 martyrs and 239,133 wounded," the statement said. "These figures represent the total number of victims who fell as a result of terrorist attacks and violence and military operations," the statement said. The figures come from the health ministry and national security council, it added. The deadliest year was 2006, when 21,539 people were killed and 39,329 wounded, as Iraq was engulfed in bloody sectarian conflict, while in 2011, 2,777 people were killed, the statement said. Baghdad saw the highest number of people killed between 2004 and 2011 at 23,898, while Muthanna province in the south saw the lowest at 94, it said. The numbers are significantly lower than previous figures that cover a shorter time span, including figures from Iraq s own human rights ministry. The human rights ministry said in an October 2009 report that 85,694 people were killed between 2004 and 2008. And the US military s Central Command posted figures on its website in July 2010 that indicated that 76,939 Iraqis, including security forces members, had been killed from January 2004 to August 2008. Independent British website www.iraqbodycount.org says that at least 114,584 civilians were killed in violence in Iraq from the US-led invasion of 2003 through December 30, 2011.