WikiLeaks release of Pentagon's secret war files may jeopardize Iraq security

WikiLeaks.org founder Julian Assange

October 24, 2010 (KATAKAMI / RIA NOVOSTI) --- The Pentagon's secret Iraq war reports released by the WikiLeaks website and evidencing the Iraqi authorities' role in tortures and civilian deaths may have serious consequences for security in Iraq, an Iraqi Interior Ministry source said on Sunday.

"The release of these documents is undermining people's trust in security forces. This trust is ever more diminishing, especially in areas populated by Sunnis," the source who declined to give his name told RIA Novosti, adding that the release of the Pentagon's classified files might jeopardize the process of reconciliation between Iraqi communities.

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WikiLeaks released late on Friday 391,832 secret reports called the Iraq War Logs that "document the war and occupation in Iraq, from 1st January 2004 to 31st December 2009 (except for the months of May 2004 and March 2009) as told by soldiers in the United States Army."

The reports detail at least 109,000 deaths in the Iraq war, including over 66,000 civilian deaths, more than the United States has previously acknowledged, and also describe the cases of torture and other abuses by Iraqi and coalition forces.

"The majority of the deaths (66,000, over 60%) of these are civilian deaths. That is 31 civilians dying every day during the six-year period," WikiLeaks said in a statement.

The Pentagon has repeatedly insisted that the release of secret documents threatens the lives of U.S. troops.


BAGHDAD, October 24 (RIA Novosti)