General acknowledges over 300 dead in unrest

An Iranian general has acknowledged that more than 300 people have been killed in the unrest surrounding nationwide protests. It was the first official word on casualties in two months. That estimate is considerably lower than the toll reported by Human Rights Activists in Iran, a U.S.based group that has been closely tracking the protests since they erupted in midSeptember. The activist group says 451 protesters and 60 security forces have been killed since the start of the unrest and that more than 18,000 people have been detained. The nationwide protests were sparked by the death of a young woman being held by the morality police but rapidly escalated into calls for the overthrow of Iran's ruling clerics.