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Casualties - coalition military

by Richard Tanter — last modified 07-Sep-2008 16:51

Casualties of military forces in Operation Enduring Freedom and the International Security Assistance Force.

Government sources

Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) U.S. Casualty Status, US Department of Defense

Operations in Afghanistan: British Fatalities, Ministry of Defence, UK

Fallen Canadians, National Defence and the Canadian Forces, Canada

Analysis

Military fatality rates (by cause) in Afghanistan and Iraq: a measure of hostilities, Sheila M Bird and Clive B Fairweather, International Journal of Epidemiology, May 21, 2007

"Out of 537 coalition fatalities in Iraq in 2006 to September 17, 2006, 457 (85%) were hostile, but only half were in Afghanistan (October 2001 to September 17, 2006: 52%, 249/478). Air losses accounted for 5% fatalities in Iraq, but 32% in Afghanistan. IEDs claimed three out of five hostile deaths in Iraq, only a quarter in Afghanistan. Deaths per fatal IED incident averaged 1.5. In period 1, 50/117 military deaths in Afghanistan were UK or Canadian from 6750 personnel, a fatality rate of 19/1000/year, nearly four times the US rate of 5/1000/year in Iraq (based on 280 deaths). Sixty out of 117 fatalities in Afghanistan occurred as clusters of two or more deaths. In period 2, fatality rates changed: down by two-thirds in Afghanistan for UK and Canadian forces to 6/1000/year (18 deaths), up by 46% for US troops in Iraq to 7.5/1000/year (416 deaths)."

US Casualties: The Trends in Iraq and Afghanistan, Anthony H. Cordesman, CSIS, 6 August, 2008

Recent media attention has focused on the fact that the number of soldiers killed in action in Afghanistan has recently surpasses the number of soldiers killed in Iraq. However, extrapolating trends from US casualty data is extremely complex. This analysis shows how different ways of counting casualties alter the analysis of trends in recent conflicts.

One consistent result is the importance of considering wounded in action relative to killed in action in measuring the intensity of combat, and the level of sacrifice made by the US military. The trend in total killed and wounded is far more relevant than the trend in killed alone. Furthermore, the a comparison of the level of casualties compared to the number of troops in theater reveals higher relative casualties in Afghanistan for most of the past 12 months.

Enduring Freedom: Casualties, CNN International.com

Coalition casualties in Afghanistan, Wikipedia

Operation Enduring Freedom [Afghanistan]: Casualties, Iraq Casualty Coalition Count