BAGHDAD MORTUARY SEES RISE IN NUMBER OF CORPSES

International human rights activists say there has been an overall rise in crimes against women since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime, with so-called "honour killings" rising steadily.

Baghdad's main mortuary has seen a rise in the number of corpses received in the past fortnight amid a new wave of violence in and around the Iraqi capital, its director told AFP on Monday.

by Jay DeshmukhMon Mar 24, 10:45 AM ET

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080324/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestbaghdadmorgue_080324144502;_ylt=Ave7_zlQ80_gCXsZjK0tKAdX6GMA

The mortuary has received an average of 15 bodies per day of people killed in attacks in Baghdad in the past two weeks, Munjid Redha Ali said.

This is up from an average of two bodies a day since the beginning of the year, as overall violence dropped following the enforcement of a security plan across the city.

"There is a spike in the number of corpses of people who have died violent deaths in the past 15 days," Redha Ali told AFP.

"We hope the trend that we are seeing now does not continue," he said, adding most of the victims had "blast or bullet" wounds.

Insurgents have stepped up attacks in both Baghdad and other parts of Iraq in recent weeks.
On Sunday, at least 18 people were killed in a series of attacks in the capital, including seven when armed men opened fire on a crowd in a local market.

International human rights activists say there has been an overall rise in crimes against women since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime, with so-called "honour killings" rising steadily.