BAGHDAD (AFP) - October was Iraq's deadliest month since April 2008, figures compiled by government ministries showed, with 964 people killed last month as the country grapples with a spike in bloodshed.

According to data compiled by the Iraqi ministries of health, interior and defence, a total of 855 civilians, 65 policemen and 44 soldiers were killed.

A further 1,600 were wounded - 1,445 civilians, 88 policemen and 67 soldiers. The figures also showed Friday that 33 militants were killed and 167 arrested.

The overall death toll was the highest since April 2008, when government figures showed 1,073 people were killed.

At the time, Iraq was slowly emerging from a brutal sectarian war that claimed tens of thousands of lives, with concerns reemerging that the country is on the brink of sliding back into another round of bloodletting.