2,405 killed in Iraq in 2010: Rights group

BAGHDAD - An Iraqi rights group said that 2,405 people were killed in Iraq in the past six month, as violence spiked amid political post-election tensions, the Yaqen website reported Saturday.

The Monitor of Constitutional Freedom and Bill of Rights group said in its semi-annual report that 7,163 people were injured and at least 63 kidnapped.

Although violence has fallen sharply in the past two years after the sectarian conflict which had followed the 2003 US-led invasion, tensions have increased amid wrangling by politicians over forming a government following the March 7 parliamentary elections.

The weeks leading up to and following voting were fraught with sectarian and political violence, as well as a large number of attacks targeting Iraqi security forces.

The report said at least 389 of those killed belonged to police and security forces.

In the first half of 2009, there were 2,326 people killed and 4,797 injured, the report added.

“The continuation of violence in all its forms against civilians and non-civilians, shows how bad the security situation is and its impact on the stability of the lives of individuals in all provinces of Iraq, which is still mostly suffers from security tension,” the report said.