Violence kills 548 Iraqis in March: UN

By Amer al-Hassani

BAGHDAD

A total of 548 Iraqis were killed and another 567 injured in violence in Iraq in March, the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said.

Some 543 civilians were among last month's fatalities while the number of the injured was 561, according to casualty figures recorded by the mission.

The northern province of Nineveh was the most affected area with 541 casualties (367 killed, 174 injured) followed by Baghdad with 84 killed and 246 injured, UNAMI said.

“The terrorists have used every possible wicked way to inflict casualties on civilians," Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Jan Kubis, said.

Iraqi forces have been struggling to oust Daesh from areas the terrorist group captured in northern and western Iraq in 2014.

In February, Iraqi ground forces -- backed by U.S.-led coalition air power -- began fresh operations aimed at ousting Daesh militants from western Mosul, the terrorist group’s last bastion in northern Iraq.

The offensive is part of a wider campaign launched last October to retake the entire city, which Daesh overran in mid-2014.