Need To Know: The Rising Toll in Iraq

The statistic is shocking: Iraqi civilians died in insurgent and sectarian attacks at a rate of nearly 100 a day in May and June, according to a U.N. report last week. July has been worse, with a series of Sunni-vs.-Shi’ite assaults that have each left dozens dead. One of the bloodiest: 53 people died in Kufa last week when a man in a van enticed Shi’ite day laborers with the promise of work, then blew up his vehicle as they approached.

The U.S. insists violence will abate as more Iraqi soldiers and police deploy, but the U.N. report points out that “new recruits are primary targets of the insurgency.” In a rare statement last week, Grand Ayatullah Ali Husaini Sistani, Iraq’s top Shi’ite cleric, called on Iraqis “to unite and forsake hatred and violence. Replace it with love and peaceful dialogue.”