BAGHDAD — At least 85,000 Iraqis lost their lives from 2004-08 in violence, the government said in its first comprehensive official tally released since the war began.

The report by the Human Rights Ministry said 85,694 people were killed from the beginning of 2004 to Oct. 31, 2008, and 147,195 were wounded.

It counted Iraqi civilians, military and police but did not cover U.S. military deaths, insurgents, or foreigners, including contractors or U.S. forces. And it did not include the first months of the war after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

The Associated Press reported in April the government had recorded 87,215 Iraqi deaths from 2005 to February 2009, a toll very similar to the latest release. It was based on government statistics obtained by the AP and covered violence ranging from catastrophic bombings to execution-style slayings.

Until the AP report, the government's toll of Iraqi deaths had been one of the most closely guarded secrets of the war. It has been hotly disputed because of the high political stakes in a war opposed by many countries and by a large portion of the American public.

By The Associated Press