British casualties blamed on insurgents

News article filed by BNP defence correspondent More British servicemen have been hurt by insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan than by the initial invasion of the two countries. The figure for British injuries in Iraq since 2004 show that the serious injuries suffered by British troops has risen from 46 during the 2003 invasion of the country, to 114 since 2004.In Afghanistan, there were 30 serious injuries in 2006 compared to two in 2005. This has been blamed on a Taleban offensive in the summer of 2006.The fatalities among UK servicemen show 52 deaths in Afghanistan since 2001 and 134 in Iraq.MPs have called for a debate on how injured British servicemen are treated, contrasting the low level of publicity for homecoming UK troops with the hero’s welcome that the American injured receive. UK servicemen have received poor treatment on the NHS, and military hospitals have been closed.Soldiers in Iraq are also more likely to suffer from disease and non-combat injuries. Since the beginning of 2006, the admissions to UK field hospitals in Iraq were 1,460, with 1,324 of those troops suffering from diseases or non-combat injury.

2007-03-24