WASHINGTON, Sept 1: Conditions that could lead to a civil war exist in Iraq, the Pentagon said in a new report on Friday, as the ‘core conflict’ has changed into one pitting Sunnis against Shi’ites, with the anti-US resistance overshadowed.

The Pentagon’s congressionally mandated report provided a sober assessment of the situation in Iraq over the past three months, saying attacks increased by 15 percent over the prior three months and casualties among Iraqis surged 51 percent.

“Conditions that could lead to civil war exist in Iraq,” the report stated, adding that concern about civil war has increased within the Iraqi civilian population.

“Nevertheless, the current violence is not a civil war, and movement toward a civil war can be prevented,” added the report, which said the security environment was at its most complex state since the US-led invasion in March 2003.—Reuters