Iraq civilian deaths hit record in Sept.

Reuters:

The number of Iraqi civilians killed in violence may have jumped to a record high in September, data from the Iraqi government indicated on Sunday.

Partial statistics compiled by the Health Ministry and issued by the Interior Ministry put civilian deaths last month at 1,089, a 42 percent increase from 769 in August and more than the previous record in this series of data -- 1,065 in July.

Though apparently incomplete, the data have previously given early indications of trends later borne out by other estimates -- notably a sharp increase in killings after the bombing of a Shi'ite shrine in February and a decline in the number of deaths at the start of a major military operation in Baghdad in August.

The United Nations, which adds numbers on hospital deaths from the Health Ministry to the numbers of unidentified bodies in the Baghdad morgue, has said 6,599 Iraqis were killed in July and August, 700 more than in the previous two months.

Oh, and add another 150 263 for today. At least.