Casualties of The Iraq War - Iraqi Insurgent Casualties

Iraqi Insurgent Casualties

In 2003, 597 insurgents were killed, according to the U.S. military. From January 2004 through December 2009 (not including May 2004 and March 2009), 23,984 insurgents were estimated to have been killed based on reports from Coalition soldiers on the frontlines. In the two missing months from the estimate, 652 were killed in May 2004, and 45 were killed in March 2009. In 2010, another 676 insurgents were killed. In January and March through October 2011, 451 insurgents were killed. Based on all of these estimates some 26,405 insurgents/militia were killed from 2003, up until late 2011.

However, this number could be an overestimate and may include some civilian fatalities, since there have been contradictions between the figures released by the U.S. military and those released by the Iraqi government. For example, the U.S. military's number of insurgents killed in 2005, is 3,247, which is in contrast to the Iraqi government's figure of 1,734. In 2007, 4,544 militants were killed according to the Iraqi ministries, while the U.S. military claimed 6,747 died. Also, in 2008, 2,028 insurgents were reported killed and in 2009, with the exception of the month of June, 488 were killed according to the Iraqi Defence Ministry. These numbers are also not in line with the U.S. military estimate of some 3,984 killed in 2008 and 2009.

U.S. military- and Iraqi Defence Ministry-provided numbers, including suicide bombers

• 2011 — 451 (not including February & August)
• 2010 — 676
• 2009 — 488 (not including June)
• 2008 — 2,028
• 2007 — 6,747 (U.S. military), 4,544 (Iraqi Defence Ministry)
• 2006 — 3,902
• 2005 — 3,247 (U.S. military), 1,734 (Iraqi Defence Ministry)
• 2004 — 6,801
• 2003 — 603

In addition as of August 22, 2009, approximately 1,719 suicide-bombers had also been reported killed.

• 2009 — 73
• 2008 — 257
• 2007 — 442
• 2006 — 297
• 2005 — 478
• 2004 — 140
• 2003 (from August to December) — 32

Grand total — 21,221–26,405 insurgents dead

On September 28, 2006, an Al Qaeda leader claimed that 4,000 foreign insurgents had been killed in the war.

On June 6, 2008, an Iraqi Army official revealed that about 6,000 Al Qaeda fighters were among the insurgents killed since the start of the war up until April 2008.

Insurgent deaths, like civilian deaths, are hard to count or estimate. See:

See also the examples of undercounting shown in one of the sections below.

The Lancet surveys did not ask respondents if the dead they were reporting were combatants or not.