Baghdad, Iraq ? Eight people died from insurgent attacks around the country, bringing to at least 830 the number killed since the Shiite-led government took office April 28 – an average of 23 deaths a day, not counting rebels.

In the past 18 months, 12,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed, including more than 10,000 Shiites, Interior Minister Bayan Jabr said, citing data from a research center. But he said he figured the affiliations based on the areas where victims lived, not individual religious identifications.

Army Col. Mark Milley, who commands the 2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, said intelligence indicated insurgents were using Baghdad’s southern districts to stage attacks in the capital.

U.S. and Iraqi troops swept through several southern neighborhoods Friday in a counterinsurgency offensive. Milley said 84 suspects were detained, while a “half a dozen suspected al-Qaida cell members” and several other fighters from Sudan, Syria, Egypt and Jordan had been captured since the operation began Sunday.