The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) [official website] reported Monday that 19,266 civilian casualties occurred in 2016 [official website], with 6,878 killed and 12,388 wounded. The UN has repeatedly condemned terrorist bombings and said that terrorist attacks in the latter months of 2016 were committed in an effort by the Islamic State (IS) to distract the world from its loss of ground in Mosul, Iraq. UNAMI noted that they have had difficulty verifying casualties and that the number of victims could be higher than their estimates.

In September the UN said [JURIST report] that civilians “accounted for more than two-thirds of those killed or injured in the month of August” in Iraq. Also in September the UN said [JURIST report] that IS actions against the Yazidi people in Northern Iraq may amount to genocide. Suicide bombings have been common in Iraq and have largely targeted civilians, as IS has attacked weddings, markets and in other public places with suicide bombings since its insurgency began in 2013. In August the UN released a report [JURIST report] detailing the “the terrible atrocities” committed by IS, including systematic killing, sexual violence, inhumane treatment of civilians and enemy soldiers, and forcible displacement of Iraq citizens from their homes.