The number of Iraqi civilians killed in political violence hit a record high in December, according figures from Iraq's Interior Ministry.
The Interior Ministry data, almost certain to be an underestimate, found 12,320 civilians were killed in 2006 in what officials term "terrorist" violence.
The ministry figure of 1,930 civilian deaths in December is three-and-a-half times the equivalent of 548 last January, before last year's surge in sectarian killing that followed the destruction of a major Shia shrine in February.
The figures also showed 1,231 policemen were killed in 2006 and 602 Iraqi soldiers.
The Iraqi Interior Ministry figures are generally viewed as a guide to trends but give only a partial sampling of deaths.
All such statistics are controversial in Iraq. A figure of 3,700 civilian deaths in October, the latest tally by the United Nations based on data from the Health Ministry and the Baghdad morgue, was described as exaggerated by the Iraqi government.
The UN figure shows about 120 civilians died each day.
President Bush plans to unveil a new strategy this month after the 3,000th soldier to die in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion was killed just before New Year. At least 112 Americans died in December, the deadliest month for them in more than two years.
Washington has identified the Mehdi Army, a militia loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, as the biggest threat to security in Iraq and urged Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to crack down on its illegal activities.
Military Times, a private US newspaper widely read by the armed forces, published the results of a survey mailed to subscribers that found just 35 per cent of active-duty personnel approved of Bush's handling of Iraq and 42 per cent disapproved.