Written question asked by Alex Salmond (Scottish National Party) on Monday, 1 November 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 17 November 2004. It was answered by Bill Rammell (Labour) on Wednesday, 17 November 2004 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the number of civilian casualties in Iraq since the invasion of Iraq in 2003. - Including figures.

Answer: Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate his Department has made of the number of civilian casualties in Iraq since the invasion of Iraq in 2003. [195954] Mr. Rammell: I have been asked to reply. There are no figures for Iraqi civilian casualties that are wholly reliable and cover the whole period since military action began. The Iraqi Ministry of Health has been collating figures from hospital admissions since April 2004, which show that just under 4,000 civilians have been killed in the last six months. We regard this figure as the most reliable available.

Secondary information