Iraqi policewomen stand to attention during a graduation ceremony in the capital Baghdad, Monday. The 659 cadets – 32 of which are women – have been training for the past two months and will protect oil installations, government ministries and top state officials. – AFP

BAGHDAD — The death toll among Iraqis from violence in September sharply increased compared to the previous month of August, hitting the highest toll in over two years, according to figures released Monday.



A total of 365 Iraqis, including 182 civilians, 88 policemen and 95 soldiers, died in attacks last month, data compiled by the health, interior and defense ministries showed.



The latest toll showed that the number of people killed in attacks across the country has jumped to its highest levels since August 2010.



September toll is higher than of August when the ministries’ figures showed that a total of 164 Iraqis were killed, including 90 civilians, 35 policemen and 39 soldiers.



Another 683 Iraqis were wounded in September, including 453 civilians, 110 policemen and 120 soldiers, the figures showed.



However, government figures showed that 260 Iraqis were wounded by attacks in August, including 120 civilians, 80 policemen and 60 soldiers, much lower than of September.



On Sept. 9, a total of 85 people were killed and some 370 others wounded in a series of bomb and gunfire attacks across the country.



One day later, Al-Qaeda militant group in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attacks in a statement posted on the Internet, saying they were in response to the “campaign of organized extermination and torture against Sunni Muslim detainees in the prisons” of Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki’s Shiite government.



On Sept. 30, another wave of gunfire and bomb attacks, including 12 car bombs, struck Iraqi cities and towns, killing 34 people and wounding some 85 others.



Observers see that Sunday’s attacks are part of an attempt by insurgent groups, including Al-Qaeda militant group, to show that they are capable of carrying out coordinated and high-profile attacks that could undermine the government’s claims of providing security to Iraqis.



On July 22, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, the top leader of the self-styled Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), Al-Qaeda front in the country, launched a plan named “Breaking the walls” aimed at releasing Al-Qaeda prisoners, targeting the country’s judges and investigators, as well as returning to previous Al-Qaeda strongholds that have been evacuated after rifts with then anti-US Sunni militant groups.



Violence and sporadic high profile attacks are still common in the country despite the dramatic decrease of violence over the past few years. — Agencies