US Death Toll Reaches 1,000 in Afghanistan

Aol News, Feb 22, 2010

David Knowles Writer

(Feb. 22) — The number of U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan reached 1,000 Monday, nearly nine and a half years after an invasion was launched to overthrow the Taliban government and disrupt al-Qaida training operations.

According to figures compiled by iCasualties.org, a nonprofit group that tracks war casualties, the bulk of the deaths have occurred in two southern Afghan provinces, Kandahar and Helmand, where the U.S. Marines launched a major offensive last week.

Overall, with 319 soldiers killed, 2009 proved the most deadly year for U.S. forces, as President Obama shifted thousands of troops into the Afghan theater from Iraq. So far, 54 American soldiers have been killed in 2010.

Julie Jacobson, AP

A U.S. Marine pays his respects to Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard, a fellow Marine who was mortally wounded during a Taliban ambush in Afghanistan last year.

By comparison to the U.S. toll, 264 coalition troops from the United Kingdom have died since 2001, and 140 Canadian soldiers have died in the fighting.

The 1,000th U.S. soldier to die in combat in Afghanistan was Cpl. Gregory S. Stultz of Brazil, Ind., the Department of Defense said. He was killed in Helmand province “while supporting combat operations.”

Filed under: Nation, World

---

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

• 100 soldiers dead in one year: Afghanistan death toll reaches grim milestone

Tags: Afghanistan, U.S. troops, war casualties