Iraq claims war death toll is 85,000

AT least 85,000 people died from 2004 to 2008 in Iraq’s violence, the first official report by Iraq’s government on the death toll since the war begun has estimated.

The report, released by the Iraqi Human Rights Ministry as part of a larger study on human rights, said 85,694 people were killed from 2004-08, and 147,195 were wounded during the same period.

The Iraqi death toll has been a hotly disputed subject on all sides.