Jackson Free Press

Bloomberg is reporting:

About 100,000 civilians have died as a result of the war in Iraq, according to research from Johns Hopkins University. The findings are the first scientific study of the effects of war on Iraqi citizens, according to the Lancet medical journal, which is publishing the research. The study, based on a survey comparing mortality rates in Iraq during the 15 months before and 18 months after the March 2003 invasion, found violence was the leading cause of death after the invasion. The majority of the civilian deaths were women and children, said the study, led by Hopkins' Les Roberts.

Most of the casualties occurred after the end of major hostilities in May 2003, researchers said in the study.

Observations suggest that civilian deaths since the war are mostly caused by air strikes, the survey said. Two-thirds of the deaths were in the insurgent-held Sunni Muslim Iraqi city of Fallujah, the study said. "Violence accounted for most of the excess deaths, and air strikes from coalition forces accounted for most violent deaths,'' Roberts said in the study.

Other estimates for civilian casualties are much lower. Iraqbodycount.com, a Web site run by researchers including University of New Hampshire professor Marc Herold, estimates that between 14,160 and 16,289 Iraqi civilians have been killed during and after the U.S.-led invasion. [...]

The Hopkins team's findings showed the war in Iraq more than doubled the risk of death in that nation. Overall, the risk of death was 2.5 times greater after the invasion, although the risk was 1.5 times higher if mortality around Falluja was excluded, the researchers said.