Iraq Suffers Deadliest Month in Two Years - East Idaho News
World News

Iraq Suffers Deadliest Month in Two Years

  Published at

GETTY W 022312 IraqMap?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1349167796845iStockphoto/Thinkstock(BAGHDAD) — Iraqi security forces are still having problems handling a revived al Qaeda and insurgency as the September death toll from militant violence reached 365, the highest monthly casualty figure in two years.

According to the Iraq’s health, interior and defense ministries, 182 civilians were killed last month along with 88 police and 95 soldiers.

This represents the most number of deaths in a single month since August 2010 when 426 fatalities were reported.

At that time, the U.S. troop level in Iraq was at around 50,000.  Virtually all Americans soldiers were withdrawn from the country by the end of 2011.

Iraqi security analyst Ali Al Haidari speculated that factors leading to the spike in violence include a lack of surveillance equipment and “weakness on the intelligence side.”

Political analyst Ehsan Al Shammari gave a more general explanation, saying it had to do with “the lack of readiness of the security organization and a weakness in military abilities and a lack of training.”

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

SUBMIT A CORRECTION