Violence claimed around 3,000 Iraqi lives in November: UN

Latest figures released by the United Nations show that acts of terrorism and violence left nearly 3,000 people dead in Iraq in November as Iraqi army forces and fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units are trying to expel Takfiri Daesh militants from the strategic northern city of Mosul.

According to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), a total of 2,885 Iraqis lost their lives and 1,380 others were injured last month.

The UN mission added that there were 926 civilians among those killed, while the number of civilian injuries hit 930.

Violence also claimed the lives of 1,959 members of the Iraqi security forces, and 450 others sustained injuries.

Casualty figures were not available from the embattled western province of Anbar as health officials were unable to monitor the area due to the volatility of the situation on the ground and the disruption of services.

“The casualty figures are staggering, with civilians accounting for a significant number of the victims,” said Jan Kubis, the UN special representative for Iraq.

He added that Daesh extremists are using residential buildings as firing positions, and continue to abduct and forcibly move civilians, effectively using them as human shields.

The Iraqi security forces are making strenuous efforts to avoid civilian casualties during their military operations in Mosul even though Daesh continuously employs contrary tactics, Kubis noted.

The senior UN official noted that Iraqi security forces are often taking additional casualties as a result of protecting civilians.

“All actions necessary must be undertaken to ensure the protection of the civilian inhabitants from the effects of armed conflict and violence,” Kubis said.

After months of preparation, Iraqi army soldiers, backed by volunteer fighters and Kurdish militants, launched an operation on October 17 to retake Mosul from Daesh terrorists.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has vowed that Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city and Daesh’s last urban stronghold in the country, will be fully recaptured by year-end.

Multiple blasts kill 4, injure 18 across Baghdad

Meanwhile, Iraqi security and medical sources said two civilians were killed and eight others wounded on Thursday, when an improvised explosive device went off near an outdoor market in Baghdad’s western neighborhood of al-Ghazaliya.

A bomb also detonated in the al-Sha'ab neighborhood of east-central Baghdad, leaving two people dead and seven others injured.

Separately, a bomb explosion in Baghdad's central neighborhood of Camp Sarah left three civilians wounded.

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