Iraq government: 85,000 Iraqis killed in 2004-08

BAGHDAD — Iraq says 85,694 people have lost their lives in the country’s violence from 2004-2008, in the first official report by the government on the Iraqi death toll since the war began.

The report, released late Tuesday by the Iraqi human rights ministry, also says that 147,195 people have been wounded during the same period.

It says the toll includes 15,000 unidentified bodies that have not been claimed by their families and were buried in special cemeteries.

The Iraqi death toll since the war began in 2003 has been a hotly disputed issue.

The ministry’s report is the first of its kind. It’s based on death certificates issued by the health ministry.