United States military casualties in the War in Afghanistan

As of December 31, 2014, there have been 2,312 U.S. military deaths in the War in Afghanistan. 1,850 of these deaths have been the result of hostile action. 20,026 American servicemembers have also been wounded in action during the war.^[1] In addition, there were 1,173 U.S. civilian contractor fatalities.^[2]

At the end of May 2010, the number of American fatalities was reported to have reached 1,000.^[3][4] By September 2012, the total number passed 2,000.^[5] More than two-thirds of those deaths have occurred since the American military presence in Afghanistan was doubled under President Barack Obama in 2009.

The highest number of American fatalities recorded in a single incident occurred on August 6, 2011, in which a transport helicopter was shot down killing 30 Americans, including 22 Navy SEALs.^[6][7] In another incident in August 2014, major general Harold J. Greene became the highest-ranking American servicemember killed by hostile action.^[8][9]

Numbers of fatalities

As of December 31, 2014, the United States Department of Defense lists 2,246 servicemembers as having died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan. Of these, 1,850 are due to hostile action and 396 non-hostile.^[1]

In addition, another 121 soldiers are reported to have died as part of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF); 55 are confirmed to have died in Africa, Southeast Asia or Cuba in support of OEF - Horn of Africa, OEF - Philippines, OEF - Trans Sahara, and in the detainment of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.^[10] 66 fatalities incurred outside the war zone while supporting combat operations in Afghanistan, making a total of 2,312 United States servicemen killed in the war in Afghanistan. Of the 66, four died due to hostile action; a Marine and a civilian DoD employee killed by terrorist gunmen in Kuwait and two military airmen killed by a lone wolf terrorist in Germany.^[4][1]

The website iCasualties.org lists, as of December 12, 2014, 2,257 servicemembers as having died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan.^[4]

In addition, 52 soldiers are listed as being killed while supporting operations in Afghanistan in: Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyzstan, Germany, Oman, Jordan, Turkey, Yemen, the Arabian sea, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. These also include the Marine and the civilian Department of Defense employee killed in Kuwait and the two airmen killed in Germany. This gives a total of 2,309 deaths of servicemen in support of operations in Afghanistan.^[4]

The iCasualties.org figure of 2,309 is lower than the Department of Defense's officially stated figure, although according to the website all of the names listed at iCasualties.org have been confirmed by the Department of Defense.^[11]

Many veterans have committed suicide as a result of physiological problems developed during their service.^[12]

Casualties by month and year

All Fatalities

Grand Total: 2,238

U.S. all fatalities in Afghanistan only

Source:^[13]

Note: Table omits the deaths of 52 soldiers killed in support of operations in Afghanistan in other countries.

Killed in action only

Grand Total: 2,039

These totals are U.S. KIA (hostile) in Afghanistan only,

Source:^[13]

Note: Table omits the deaths of four troops killed in action in support of operations in Afghanistan in other countries. These are the marine and the civilian Department of Defence employee killed in Kuwait in October 2002 and January 2003, respectively, and the two airman killed in Germany in 2011. Friendly fire deaths are included in the table.

Incidents of multiple deaths of U.S. service members in the war

• March 1–18, 2002 - Eight U.S. soldiers were killed and another 72 were wounded in Operation Anaconda. Most of the casualties were sustained during the Battle of Takur Ghar when a U.S. transport helicopter was shot down and another one was so badly damaged that it had to land or risk crashing also. All of those killed were members of various special forces units.
• June 28, 2005 - 19 U.S. special operations troops were killed in Operation Red Wings. Three of them, Navy SEALs, were killed when their four-man team was ambushed in the mountains of Kunar province. The fourth team member was missing in action for four days before being rescued. After the initial ambush the team called for reinforcements and a quick reaction force dispatched. As they approached the ambush site, insurgents fired an RPG at the helicopter carrying the QRF, shooting it down. All 16 onboard were killed. Eight of them were Navy Seals while the other eight were members of the Nightstalkers regiment.
• November 19, 2007 - Five US Army soldiers and one Marine were killed when their footpatrol was attacked by direct fire from enemy forces in Aranus, Afghanistan. The soldiers were assigned to 2nd Battalion, 503rd Airborne Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Vicenza, Italy. The Marine was assigned to Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, Bridgeport, California.^[14][15]
• July 13, 2008 - Nine U.S. soldiers were killed and another 27 wounded during the Battle of Wanat. A force of 200 Taliban fighters had attacked a remote U.S. outpost at the town of Wanat in an attempt to overrun the base. The base's observation post, positioned on a tiny hill about 50 to 75 meters from the main base, was overrun during the battle and most of the casualties were sustained there. Eventually U.S. force managed to repulse the attack but had to evacuate the base a few days later. The battle is considered a U.S. tactical victory, but also a Taliban strategic victory. The soldiers involved in the battle were part of 2nd Battalion, 503rd Airborne Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Vicenza, Italy.
• October 3, 2009 - Eight U.S. soldiers were killed and another 24 wounded during the Battle of Kamdesh. A force of 300 Taliban fighters had attacked a U.S. outpost at the town of Kamdesh in an attempt to overrun the base. The Afghan part of the base was overrun during the battle which left four Afghan security forces members dead, 10 wounded and 20 captured. The soldiers involved in the battle were part of 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado.
• December 30, 2009 - Five U.S. CIA employees and 2 Xe PMCs were killed and another six wounded in a suicide bomb attack on a military base in Khost province. The Afghan PMC chief of security for the base and a Jordanian military officer from the Jordanian spy agency Dairat al-Mukhabarat al-Ammah were also killed in the attack.
• On May 28, 2010, the 1,000th American fatality in Afghanistan was a Marine from Camp Pendleton killed by a roadside bomb while on a foot patrol in Helmand province.^[3][4]
• April 27, 2011 - Eight United States Air Force Airmen and one American contractor were killed at the Kabul Airport. An Afghan Air Corps pilot became angry during an argument in the operations room at the airfield, then suddenly drew his gun and began shooting. The shooter was fatally wounded at the end of the incident.^[16]
• August 6, 2011 - 30 American servicemembers, including 22 Navy SEALs, were killed along with seven Afghan special forces members and an Afghan civilian interpreter when their transport helicopter was shot down in Wardak province. A U.S. military dog also died.^[6][7]
• February 2012 - Four soldiers were killed in the 2012 Afghanistan Quran burning protests.
• August 2012 - Afghan security forces kill twelve US soldiers in so-called "green on blue" attacks.^[17]
• October 2012 - Three American soldiers killed as a result of a suicide strike against a joint U.S.-Afghan combat team in Eastern Afghanistan that left a total of 14 dead.^[18]
• March 11, 2013 - Seven Americans died this day when a helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan that killed five American service members and earlier two U.S. special operations forces were gunned down in an insider attack by an Afghan policeman in eastern Afghanistan.^[19]
• April 6, 2013, Three U.S. service members in Southern Afghanistan were killed when a suicide bomber detonated a car full of explosives just as a convoy with the international military coalition drove past another convoy of vehicles carrying the governor of Zabul province in that province.^[20]
• May 4, 2013, Seven U.S. service members were killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan.^[21]

See also

• Coalition casualties in Afghanistan
• Civilian casualties of the War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
• Harold J. Greene, the highest-ranking American to die in the war in Afghanistan

References

External links

• Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians Congressional Research Service.
• Operation Enduring Freedom Coalition Casualties