Iraq

Bodies flood Baghdad morgue

Baghdad's central morgue received 1,595 bodies last month, the most since the bombing of a Shia shrine in February prompted a wave of sectarian killings.

Doctor Abdul Razzaq al-Obaidi, the morgue assistant manager, said on Wednesday that the tally for June compared with the 1,375 bodies the morgue received in May and 1,155 in April.

"June is the highest month in terms of receiving cases of violence since Samarra," he said.

Most of the bodies had gunshot wounds to the head, he said, a common feature of sectarian, execution-style killings.

Iraq's health, interior and defence ministries consistently provide lower figures than those released by the morgue.

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