UN: 189 children killed in Iraq this year

BAGHDAD

Since the beginning of the year, 189 children have been killed and another 301 injured in conflict-affected Iraq, the UN said this week.

Peter Hawkins, UNICEF Iraq representative, and Jan Kubis, UN special representative of the secretary general for Iraq, said in a joint statement that children in war-torn areas have been unable to access basic services, including health and education, due to attacks on schools and hospitals.

“In Ramadi alone, a total of 45 schools have been destroyed or damaged as a result of the conflict since last year,” the statement said.

In recent years, bombings and shooting attacks -- which often target civilians -- have become a common occurrence in war-torn Iraq, especially Baghdad.

Iraq has suffered a devastating security vacuum since June 2014, when Daesh overran Mosul -- the country’s second largest city -- before going on to capture additional territory in both Iraq and neighboring Syria.