BAGHDAD — U.S. military officials sought Wednesday to counter accusations that they were manipulating death tolls to make Iraq look more secure.
Stung by accusations that Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the commander of U.S. troops in Iraq, had presented selective statistics during his testimony before Congress, the military released a statement here outlining its definition of sectarian violence: bombings, killings or other attacks committed by an ethnic group or religious sect against another, for purely sectarian purposes.
The number of civilians killed in sectarian attacks has been used as a key indicator in arguments over President Bush's military strategy in Iraq, particularly his decision earlier this year to increase troop levels by 28,500.
Based on the Pentagon's definition of sectarian violence, Petraeus said the number of such killings had decreased nationwide by more than 55% since December. Overall civilian deaths, according to Petraeus' charts, dropped by about 50%.
The Iraqi government also compiles statistics, but does not differentiate between sectarian and other violent deaths. Sources in Iraq's ministries of Health, Interior and Defense put the December civilian death toll from war-related violence at 2,075, compared with 1,773 in August. That would amount to a decline of less than 15%.
A chart displayed during Petraeus' testimony Monday and Tuesday showed about 2,200 Iraqi deaths in sectarian violence in December, compared with fewer than 1,000 last month: the 55% drop cited by Petraeus.
Retired Army Col. Douglas A. Macgregor, a defense analyst who supported the invasion but is critical of the current strategy, said several factors made body counts unreliable in Iraq. Among them are the Muslim practice of burying bodies as soon as possible, the general chaos of war, and sectarian agendas within Maliki's government.
"You're talking about an environment where there is absolutely no accountability for anything," Macgregor said. "The bottom line is, whatever figures you are given are simply inaccurate."
Based on anecdotal evidence, there is little doubt that violence has ebbed in many areas. The thunderous blasts that once were part of daily life in Baghdad are less frequent. The daily tally of suspected sectarian killings in the capital, which in January often topped 40, now averages about 12. The victims are identified as such because they generally are males found without identification documents and shot execution-style. The bodies usually are blindfolded and bound at the wrists, and often bear signs of torture. On Wednesday, 11 such bodies were found, according to an official in the Interior Ministry, which oversees the national police.
