( CNN ) It 's been a bloody year in Iraq , where ISIS militants have seized swaths of territory and remain on the offensive . And the latest figures from the Iraq Body Count monitoring project show that civilians , as so often in war , are paying a heavy price . At least 17,049 civilians were recorded killed in Iraq during 2014 , Iraq Body Count said , roughly double the number recorded in 2013 -- which in turn was about double that of the previous year . The shocking rise in deaths in 2014 is due in large part to the ISIS offensive and the military response to it by Iraqi forces and the U.S.-led international coalition , the group said . Based in London and made up of academics and human rights and anti-war activists , Iraq Body Count monitors and compiles media reports of Iraqi civilian casualties resulting from the violence that followed the U.S.-led 2003 invasion of Iraq . Since that invasion , `` not a single day has passed without Iraqi civilians being killed , '' it said . `` The year 2014 , however , reflects an increase in violence to levels not seen since the worst years of 2006 and 2007 . '' According to the group , the greatest number of deaths in 2014 were in Baghdad , Nineveh , Salaheddin and Anbar provinces , which together account for about 80 % of civilian deaths . The highest number of civilian deaths was seen in Baghdad , with more than 4,750 reported . More than 3,600 civilians were killed in western Anbar province , half of them by the Iraqi military in daily airstrikes , primarily in and around Falluja , the group said . Meanwhile , in Salaheddin and Nineveh provinces , the killings of civilians by ISIS contributed significantly to the death toll , it said . From 2010 to 2012 , there was a relative reduction in civilian casualties , but the level of violence in the country started to climb again in 2013 , Iraq Body Count said . That rise followed the withdrawal of U.S. troops at the end of 2011 and the implementation of increasingly sectarian policies by the then-Shia-led government . There has been no monthly civilian death toll lower than 900 since July 2013 , the group said , with most being much higher . 'New brutality on the ground ' The bloodshed peaked in June , when ISIS launched a major offensive to take Iraq 's second-largest city , Mosul , and extend its reach far into the country . There were 2,534 civilian deaths recorded that month . Since then , the average has been more than 1,500 civilian deaths a month . It 's not always possible to tell who 's to blame for the deaths . But according to Iraq Body Count 's analysis , 1,748 civilians were reported killed by Iraqi military airstrikes , while 4,325 were killed by ISIS . There were also 118 civilians reported killed by U.S. coalition airstrikes last year . `` There is a new brutality on the ground and renewed attacks from the air . ISIS and the Iraqi army have caused thousands of civilian deaths this year , while the international coalition has yet again been responsible for civilian killings , for the first time since U.S. withdrawal three years previously , '' Iraq Body Count said . `` Iraqi civilians are once again being killed by all sides . '' Combatant deaths . As for those taking part in the fighting , it 's hard to say with certainty how many have died , the group said . Iraqi military and insurgent deaths have increased `` dramatically '' in 2014 in relation to previous years , it said . But there 's also been a sharp divergence in the information coming from different sources , such as news agencies , official statistics and media reports -- giving a total ranging from 4,000 to 5,000 at the low end to roughly 30,000 at the other extreme . `` The truth probably lies somewhere between these two numbers , but neither can be ruled out at present , '' Iraq Body Count said . Taking that variation into account , between 21,000 and 47,000 people were killed in war-related violence in Iraq during 2014 , it said . That makes it the third-deadliest year since the invasion , after 2006 and 2007 .
Operation Body ##guard says the number of civilian deaths roughly doubled from 2013 to 2014 . The project has monitored and analyzed reports of civilian deaths since the US invasion . The ISIS offensive and military response to it contributed to the reported spike in civilian deaths .