Over 2,400 Iraqi casualties were reported in June, the highest monthly death toll in seven years, as Sunni Muslim insurgents continued to destabilize the country in its quest to claim Iraqi territory.

Figures released by the United Nations on Tuesday showed at least 2,417 confirmed Iraqi deaths and 2,287 injured during the month of June. It said that at least 60 percent of those killed were civilians.

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According to the U.N., the figures did not include estimates by the provincial health officials of 244 killed civilians and 588 injured in the western province of Anbar, where separatist group Islamic State laid claim over the territory amid continued fighting with the Iraq army.

Baghdad was the worst affected area, accounting for at least 375 civilians killed and 715 injured.

Iraq U.N. official Nickolay Mladenov said the figures highlighted the need for measures to ensure the public's safety from the clashes.

"The staggering number of civilian casualties in one month points to the urgent need for all to ensure that civilians are protected," he said.

Last month has been the deadliest period in Iraq since the sectarian war in 2007 which recorded more than 2,000 civilian casualties every month, according to statistics posted at independent site Iraq Body Count.

Earlier today, Iraqi authorities reported that mortar shells had hit the perimeter of the Al-Askari mosque in Samarra, Baghdad - regarded as one of the holiest mosques in Shiite Islam - that killed at least one person and injured 14.

After the incident, authorities said that thousands of troops are volunteer Shiite militiamen had been deployed to guard the site.

On Sunday, Islamic State spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani announced the creation of a caliphate and declared Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as its leader.

Iraq Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's parliament convened a new session Tuesday morning. TIME speculates that there will be a lot of pressure on Maliki to acknowledge and compromise on the suggestions of U.S. State Secretary John Kerry and British First Secretary of State William Hague to name a unity government to prevent the country from splitting.

Erbil-based analyst and writer Hiwa Osman said of the events, "We are in a new reality now, and it's clear Iraq will never be ruled by one man, one sect, or party. The new Iraq is to be managed, not ruled."

"Managing the relationships between the various regions is the only way forward if the country wants to stay together."

TagsSunni, Iraq, insurgent, ISIS, Al-qaeda, caliphate, Al-Askari mosque, Nickolay Mladenov, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, Nouri Maliki, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Hiwa Osman, John Kerry, William Hague, Iraq Body Count, separatist, Terrorist, Baghdad, ISIL, Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant