Violence has claimed the lives of 980 Iraqis in December, up from 888 the previous month, AP quoted the United Nations as saying. The U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq, known as UNAMI, said in a statement Friday that 506 of those killed in December were civilians, while the rest were security forces, including Kurdish peshmerga and paramilitary troops. It says the worst-affected province was Baghdad with 261 killed, followed by Ninevah province with 68. Citing its local health authorities, the U.N. says 124 civilians were killed in Anbar province. The UN added that 1,244 civilians were wounded in December.
