July Was Bad!

But there's no civil war going on ...

A bomb ripped through a market in Baghdad's Sadr City on Thursday, another day of carnage in a city under siege by insurgents and people bent on sectarian revenge.

Three people were killed and 27 more were wounded when the explosive detonated in Rashaad market, located in the volatile, densely populated eastern Baghdad Shiite slum of Sadr City, a base of support for anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

The strike, one of several across the country, was reported as the Iraqi Health Ministry released new figures that underscore the spike in warfare plaguing Iraq: July was the deadliest month for civilians since the war started in March 2003, figures show.

During the month, 3,438 Iraqis were killed -- 1,855 because of sectarian or political violence and another 1,583 from bombings and shootings. Nearly 3,600 Iraqis were wounded, the official said.

The release of these figures comes on the heels of a U.N. report that said nearly 6,000 people were killed in Iraq in May and June.