Almost 19,000 civilians were killed in Iraq in under 2 years
At least 18,802 civilians were killed in Iraq between Jan. 1, 2014, and Oct. 31, 2015, according to a United Nations report released Tuesday, and another 36,245 were wounded.
The particularly violent stretch, which the U.N. called "staggering," came as the Islamic State clashed heavily with Iraqi forces, The Associated Press reports. The most common form of violence ISIS used against civilians was IEDs. Other causes of death included airstrikes, shelling, small arms fire, burning, beheadings, and knife attacks.
"These acts may, in some instances, amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and possibly genocide," the report read.
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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.
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