Iraqi Death Toll Increases

In this photo taken on Tuesday, May 15, 2012, students play in the yard at Alhambra elementary school, made from mud, in Khalis 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Iraq. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

BAGHDAD -- Official figures show a slight increase in the number of Iraqis killed in violence for the last two months.

Figures released by the Defense, Interior and Health Ministry on Saturday showed that 132 people were killed in May, including 90 civilians, 20 policemen and 22 soldiers.

That's up from 126 deaths in April and 112 in March ? the lowest monthly death toll since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The bloodiest day of the past month was Thursday when 18 people were killed in a series of bombings and shootings, most in the capital of Baghdad.

Violence has fallen in Iraq since a wave of sectarian fighting in 2006 and 2007, but insurgents still carry out attacks on security forces and civilians to undermine the Shiite-led government.

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