During 2014, the number of casualties in Iraq increased dramatically. At least 48,590 were killed and 26,516 were wounded. The surge in violence began shortly before the start of the year when the government forcibly closed a protest camp in Anbar province. By midyear, Islamic State militants from Syria had taken advantage of the situation, brutally co-opting the rebellion in Anbar, and wreaking havoc elsewhere in the country.
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