Iraq’s deadly war

By THE DATA TEAM

ON JULY 8th, as the holy month of Ramadan was coming to an end, Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for another suicide bombing in Iraq. This time the jihadists targeted a Shia mosque, in Balad, north of Baghdad, killing more than 30 people. This came just days after the deadliest attack in years, when a suicide bomb in Baghdad left more than 290 dead, with the toll still rising. Yet, sadly, Iraqis have become used to such bloodshed. Since the Iraq war began in 2003, more than 50,000 people are estimated to have died from terrorism in the country. The bloody toll is more than three times as high as in any other nation. And the future looks equally grim. Part of the reason for such an intensity of attacks is that IS is losing territorial control in its heartlands and so is striking out. This is unlikely to abate any time soon.