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Fall-back in UK casualties in Afghanistan

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, Sept 30, IRNA -- There has been a fallback in the number of British soldiers killed, seriously injured and requiring field hospital treatment since they were redeployed in southern Afghanistan and the majority put under US command.

According to the latest figures published by the Ministry of Defence Thursday, five soldiers were seriously injured in the first two weeks of September and 12 during August, compared with 29 in July.

There were 51 field hospital admissions, including for disease and non-battle injuries in the first half of September and 93 during August, down from 139 in July, 125 in June and 161 in May.

But despite the fall, aeromedical evacuations have fluctuated, rising back up to 163 in the six week period between August 1 and September 15 after the number declined to 61 in July, down from 113 in June and 106 in June.

No explanation has been provided for the apparent fall-back in casualties, whether operational or seasonal, but it has corresponded with the number of fatalities dropping to seven this month and seven in August, compared with 16 in July and 20 in June.

Part of the British redeployment in recent months included withdrawing from Sangin in Helmand province, where almost one third of the 338 UK troops so far killed in Afghanistan have occurred.

Concern has been about the disproportionate number of British deaths, which has been around a third of the number suffered by US but with ten times the number of troops deployed.

The UK’s reduced role in handing over Helmand outposts comes after the American surge and the splitting of Regional Command in southern Afghanistan into two new headquarters based in Helmand and Kandahar.