Casualties on the Rise Again in Iraq

The surge has come and gone and now Iraqi casualties (including civilian, military and police) are on the rise again:

Oct-07 565
Nov-07 471
Dec-07 476
Jan-08 485
Feb-08 527

There are still four more days left in February so it could end up being the worst month since September of last year. The death toll is still rising from this weekend's suicide bombing:

The death toll from Sunday's suicide bomb attack on Iraqi pilgrims heading to a Shi'ite festival south of Baghdad has risen to 63, a health official said on Monday.

The bomber exploded a suicide vest packed with metal ball bearings in a refreshment tent full of pilgrims heading to the annual Arbain festival, one of Shi'ie Islam's holiest events, in the southern city of Kerbala.

Meanwhile, fighting has erupted in the once relatively peaceful northern part of the country:

Turkey sent military reinforcements into northern Iraq yesterday as clashes with militants from the Kurdistan Workers' party (PKK) continued for a fourth day. According to the Turkish army, another 25 tanks crossed the border to help the hunt for PKK fighters, whom Turkey accuses of launching attacks on its forces from bases in the sparsely populated mountains along the Turkish-Iraqi border.

"The bombings are continuing by land and by air; the clashes are becoming heavier," a Turkish military source told the Reuters news agency.

Roj TV, the voice of the PKK, reported that 5,000 Turkish troops with 60 tanks had launched an offensive against the militants early yesterday in the Matin mountains. Ahmed Deniz, a PKK spokesman, told the Guardian that fierce fighting was continuing in several places along the border.

Since the major air and ground offensive began last week, Turkey says 15 of its soldiers and 112 militants have died. The PKK claims that 47 Turkish soldiers have been killed. The PKK spokesman said its fighters also brought down a Turkish army helicopter in the remote Chamsku area, close to the border. Turkey confirmed the loss of a helicopter, but said it was due to unknown reasons.