Podcast: Tallying the toll

How many members of the U.S. military have died in Iraq? How many have been wounded? What about coalition troops? Iraqi soldiers? Police officers? Contractors? Civilians?

Among the many great challenges the news industry has faced during the Iraq war, one of the most difficult and time-consuming has been the effort to maintain an accurate, or even approximate, count of those killed and wounded in fighting.

So where exactly do all the numbers you see in the news come from?

AP deputy international editor Nicolas B. Tatro sat down with Lynn Dombek, director of the AP's News Research Center, for a conversation about some of the latest Iraq casualty numbers that have surfaced, and about the day-to-day task of tallying the war's toll.

Listen to this podcast to hear what they had to say.

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Resources discussed in this podcast:

The APs Iraqi Civilian Casualty Database

Scope: April 28, 2005 to present.

Methodology: The tally is compiled from hospital, police and military officials cited in news stories, and reporters at the scenes. The numbers include civilians, government officials, and security forces, and are considered only a minimum based on AP reporting.

Web site: for AP internal use only

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Iraq Body Count

Scope: March 19, 2003 to present

Methodology: Based on media accounts of casualties.

Web site: Iraqbodycount.net

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Iraq Coalition Casualty Count

Scope: March 1, 2005 to present

Methodology: Compiled from multiple news reports.

Web site: icasualties.org/oif

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United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq

Human Rights Report, Nov. 1 - Dec. 31, 2006

Web site: tinyurl.com/2hlg7h

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The Lancet, "Mortality after the 2003 invasion of Iraq; a cross-sectional cluster sample survey

Web site: tinyurl.com/et35c

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Department of Defense, Casualty Reports

U.S. Military Fatalities

Web site: tinyurl.com/687w5

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Department of Defense Quarterly Report to Congress

Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq

Web site: tinyurl.com/pkkac

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The Department of Labor

The Longshore Defense Base Act, which protects civilians working for government contractors.

Web site: tinyurl.com/p6mqj

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Nicolas B. Tatro is the AP's deputy international editor, and Lynn Dombek is the director of the AP's News Research Center. Both are based in New York.

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