2,000 Iraqi doctors killed since 2003

Geneva: Iraqi officials estimate more than 2,200 doctors and nurses have been killed and more than 250 kidnapped since 2003, according to figures from the Red Cross.

Of the 34,000 doctors registered in 1990, at least 20,000 have left the country.

The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the Middle East said there has been a general trend of abducting and killing professional, and medical staff were targeted in particular.

The ICRC also said water supplies had deteriorated over the past year, forcing millions to rely on poor-quality supplies.