Iraqi civilian deaths shoot up in February

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) - Civilian deaths in Iraq shot back up again in February, figures compiled by an Interior Ministry official show.

January had set a record for the lowest number of Iraqi civilians killed since the U.S.-led invasion nearly six years ago.

At least 211 civilians were killed in February - about 7.5 per day, numbers from the Interior Ministry, Health Ministry and Defense Ministry show.

In January, 138 civilians were killed - just under 4.5 per day.

The deadliest single incident in February was a suicide bombing carried out by a woman on February 13 among a crowd of mostly women and children on the way to a religious festival. She killed at least 38 people and wounded at least 50.

Iraqi casualty figures have been steadily dropping since the fall of 2007.

The U.S. military attributes the increased security to three main factors: the U.S. troop "surge" beginning that year, the Sunni "Awakening" movements, in which local communities turned against al-Qaeda in Iraq, and the ceasefire announced by radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

– CNN's Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report.