How many people did the US kill in Iraq?
How many Iraqis did the US kill in the Gulf War?
There is no single agreed-upon figure for the death toll in the Iraq War; however, various estimates have been put forward through different research institutions and methodologies. Besides those directly killed by US and coalition forces, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis lost their lives due to internal conflicts and infrastructure collapse triggered by the war.
Here are some of the main data sources and estimates:
Documented Civilian Deaths (Iraq Body Count): According to Iraq Body Count data, based on media reports and official records, approximately 15,000 civilians died between 2003 and 2011 as a direct result of attacks by coalition forces. According to the same organization, the total number of violent civilian deaths caused by all sides of the war (insurgency, sectarian conflict, etc.) ranges from 183,000 to 206,000. University and Health Research (Lancet and PLOS): Broader academic studies include the indirect effects of the war:
The Lancet (2006): Estimated that approximately 655,000 Iraqis died as a result of the war in the first 40 months after the invasion, and stated that 31% of these deaths (approximately 186,000-200,000 people) were directly attributable to coalition forces.
PLOS Medicine (2013): In a study covering the years 2003-2011, it was estimated that approximately 461,000 “excess deaths” occurred, and that approximately 35% of these severe deaths were attributable to coalition forces.
Military Casualties: It is estimated that between 7,000 and 11,000 Iraqi soldiers were killed in the initial phase of the invasion (March-April 2003). [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]
In short, it is generally accepted that the number of Iraqis killed solely by US forces’ bullets or bombs is in the tens of thousands, but the total number of Iraqis killed in the chaos created by the war initiated by the US is in the hundreds of thousands (some estimates put it at over 1 million).
There is no single agreed-upon figure for casualties in the Iraq War; however, various estimates have been put forward through different research institutions and methods. In addition to those killed directly by US and coalition forces, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis lost their lives due to internal conflicts and infrastructure collapse triggered by the war.
Here are the main data sources and estimates:
Documented Civilian Deaths (Iraq Body Count): According to Iraq Body Count data, based on media reports and official records, approximately 15,000 civilians died between 2003 and 2011 as a direct result of attacks by coalition forces. According to the same organization’s records, the total number of violent civilian deaths caused by all sides of the war (insurgents, sectarian conflicts, etc.) ranges from 183,000 to 206,000.
University and Health Research (Lancet and PLOS): Broader academic studies include the indirect effects of the war:
The Lancet (2006): Estimates that approximately 655,000 Iraqis died as a result of the war in the first 40 months after the invasion, and attributes 31% of these deaths (approximately 186,000-200,000) directly to coalition forces.
PLOS Medicine (2013): A study covering the years 2003-2011 estimates that approximately 461,000 “excess deaths” occurred, with about 35% of these violent deaths attributed to coalition forces.
Broad-Scale Estimates: Brown University’s “Costs of War” project estimates that between 275,000 and 306,000 people, including civilians, soldiers, and insurgents, died as a direct result of the war in Iraq; this number is much higher when indirect causes (disease, famine, etc.) are added. Some studies suggest that the total death toll exceeds 1 million.
America’s bloodthirsty General Colin Powell
Military Casualties: It is estimated that between 7,000 and 11,000 Iraqi soldiers were killed in the initial phase of the invasion (March-April 2003). [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]
In summary, it is generally accepted that the number of those killed solely by US forces’ bullets or bombs is in the tens of thousands, but the total number of Iraqis killed in the chaos created by the war started by the US is in the hundreds of thousands (some estimates put it at over 1 million).
About the Author
