70,000 dead in 7 years in

BAGHDAD - Agence France-Presse

Bombings in Iraq killed six people yesterday as authorities released figures showing nearly 70,000 people died in violence from 2004 to 2011, markedly fewer than numbers from other sources.

Car bombs in Baghdad and northern Iraq yesterday killed six people, including three security force members, and wounded at least 10, security and medical officials said. The latest bloodshed comes less than a week after a wave of attacks claimed by al-Qaeda killed 42 people nationwide.

The government, meanwhile, said 69,263 people were killed as a result of violence from 2004 to 2011. Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh “announced that the number of victims ... from April 5, 2004 to December 31, 2011 reached 69,263 martyrs and 239,133 wounded,” the statement said. “These figures represent the total number of victims who fell as a result of terrorist attacks and violence and military operations,” the statement said. The figures come from the health ministry and national security council.