U.S. Troops' Death Toll in Afghanistan Doubles in 2009

[tekisui]

Source: China View

KABUL, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- With the death of a U.S. soldier on Saturday, U.S. military fatalities in Afghanistan this year have increased to exactly twice of those in the previous year, according to statistics released by an independent website on Monday.

A U.S. service member died following an IED strike in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, said a press release issued by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) on Sunday.

The killed soldier raised the U.S. death toll in Afghanistan this year to 310, while 155 U.S. soldiers were killed in the same country last year, according to iCasualties.org, which compiles information about military deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Deaths of foreign troops in Afghanistan also register a sharp rise from 295 in 2008 to 506 this year, up by more than 70 percent, according to the website.

The UK, which has the second largest forces in Afghanistan, has seen its armed forces fatalities reach 106 this year, more than twice of the 51 soldiers killed in 2008.

A total of 940 U.S. soldiers have died in the U.S.-led Afghanistan War so far, while the total fatalities of coalition troops have mounted to 1,553.

The U.S. Defense Department said on its website that as of Dec.24, 2009, 859 members of the U.S. military had died in and around Afghanistan, with 933 dead worldwide, as a result of the U.S.-led Afghanistan War launched in late 2001.

2009 has already proved the deadliest for the forces of the United States and its allies in Afghanistan.

more: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/28/content_12718088.htm

[spanone]

1. oddly, the numbers peaked as Obama was contemplating whether to send in more troops

2009 january ....15

february ....15

march .....13

april ......6

may ....12

june ....25

july ....45

august .....51

september .40

october .....59

november ..18

december...11

http://icasualties.org/oef/