Iraq civilian deaths up in March despite crackdown

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Violence in Iraq killed 1,861 civilians in March, a 13 percent increase from the previous month and despite a major security crackdown in Baghdad, Iraqi government tallies showed on Sunday.

The number of civilian deaths in February was 1,645.

The figures were compiled by the interior, defence and health ministries and obtained by Reuters.

Much of the violence in March has been outside Baghdad, including several recent attacks blamed on al Qaeda that have killed hundreds of people.

The worst attack, a suicide lorry bombing in the northern town of Tal Afar last Tuesday, killed 152 people, making it the deadliest single bombing since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003.

U.S. military commanders had said they expected tighter security in Baghdad to force militants to shift their focus elsewhere, although there has still been some big attacks in Baghdad since the security plan began in mid-February.

The U.S.-backed plan, called Operation Imposing Law, aims to substantially reduce sectarian violence in Baghdad and its surrounding areas.

In March, 165 Iraqi policemen and 44 Iraqi soldiers were also killed, the data showed.