Almost 19,000 civilians were killed in Iraq in under 2 years

This could potentially be considered genocide.
(Image credit: AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images)

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.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Julie Kliegman

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.