WHO/Iraqi study of civilian deaths (UPDATED)

(Also posted on my own blog.)

The new study, which includes more extensive sampling than the earlier one published in Lancet in 2006, estimates that 151,000 Iraqis died violent deaths in the first three years (2003-6) following the U.S. invasion of Iraq. There is still a likelihood of undercounting, but this is likely to be right order of magnitude. This is a sobering finding and it helps to emphasize the horrors through which Iraqis have lived. (Previous comment here.)

The new study will appear in the New England Journal of Medicine, January 31, 2008. Catherine and John Brownstein's "perspective" on the study will also appear in the January 31 issue, but an advance copy is available here.

New Estimate of Violent Deaths Among Iraqis Is Lower