Study: More than 12,000 Iraqis killed by suicide bombs since the war began

The Lancet published studies in 2004 and 2006 that used samplings of casualties and statistical modeling to arrive at tolls of “excess” deaths (those that would not have happened without the war), which critics said were far too high. The paper released on Friday, however, relied on direct counts of deaths using information compiled by Iraq Body Count, an independent group that culls news reports and hospital and morgue records to try to keep track of civilian deaths.

Iraq’s ability to track the deaths is limited, and its record-keeping remains poor. The medical establishment is so diminished — many educated Iraqis have fled over the years — that the wounded are not always treated at a hospital, and the dead are quickly buried.

According to the paper, from March 20, 2003, to the end of 2010, suicide bombers killed 12,284 Iraqi civilians and wounded 30,644 others. The attacks killed 200 coalition troops, including 175 from the United States.