Suicide bombs have killed more than 12,000 Iraqi civilians and wounded another 30,000 since the war started in March of 2003, according to a new study. The numbers account for 11% of the 108,624 civilian deaths and 26% of the 117,165 civilian injuries, but aren't considered final because accurate data on casualties is hard to come by. "Not every death or injury is reported, or linked to a suicide bombing as a cause," said the study.
The study compared suicide bomb tallies to data compiled by Iraq Body Count, a public database that has been accused of over- and under-reporting Iraqi deaths, CNN reports. The British journal that published the study, the Lancet, was criticized for running a study 5 years ago claiming the war had taken 600,000 Iraqi civilian lives. Other tidbits from the new study: 1,003 suicide bombings were counted in all, 79 of which had killed 200 coalition troops, including 176 Americans. (More suicide bomber stories.)