Human Rights Watch in New York has accused the US military of failing to conduct proper investigations into civilian deaths resulting from excessive or indiscriminate use of force in Baghdad.
The human rights organisation said it had confirmed 20 civilian deaths as a result of military action between May 1st and September 30th and that it had credible reports of 94 civilian deaths involving "questionable legal circumstances that warrant investigation".
The precise number of Iraqi civilians killed by US soldiers since the end of major military operations is unknown and the US military told Human Rights Watch that it kept no statistics on civilian deaths, according to the 56-page report, Hearts and Minds: Post-War Civilian Casualties in Baghdad by US Forces.
"It's a tragedy that US soldiers have killed so many civilians in Baghdad," said Mr Joe Stork, acting executive director of the Middle East and North Africa division at Human Rights Watch, "but it's really incredible that the US military does not even count these deaths."
Human Rights Watch said that so far the military had concluded only five investigations above the division level into alleged unlawful deaths, and that the lack of accountability was creating a climate of impunity for American forces.