Wikileaks documents 'reveal new deaths'

US military documents leaked to whistleblowing website Wikileaks reveal thousands of previously unreported civilian deaths, according to independent research organisation Iraq Body Count.

Speaking at a Wikileaks news conference, Prof John Sloboda from Iraq Body Count estimated the logs would "bring to the public knowledge more than 15,000 deaths".

Wikileaks says the secret US military logs also suggest US commanders ignored evidence of torture by the Iraqi authorities.

A US Department of Defense spokesman dismissed the documents as raw observations by tactical units, which were only snapshots of tragic events.