BAGHDAD — The United Nations says violence in Iraq has killed more than 5,500 civilians over the first six months of 2014. That time period corresponds with an offensive by the Islamic State group and other militants that has overrun a huge chunk of northern and western Iraq. In a report released Friday, the UN mission to Iraq says that at least 5,576 civilians were killed and another 11,665 wounded in Iraq since the beginning of the year. In all of 2013, the UN reported just over 7,800 civilians killed. That was the highest annual death toll in years. The new report also documents human rights violations by the Islamic State group as well as Iraqi security forces and associated groups. — Reuters
