US Military Losses Hit 4,000 in Iraq, Afghanistan

July 9 (Bloomberg) -- Four thousand U.S. service members have died in U.S.
President George W. Bush's ``war on terror'' in Iraq and Afghanistan 5 1/2
years after American forces ousted the Taliban in December 2001. 

A total of 3,596 have died in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion that
removed Saddam Hussein from power. Some 2,957 of that number were killed
in action, according to the latest Department of Defense figures. More
than 26,500 personnel have been wounded in that conflict, 11,959 of them
so seriously they couldn't return to duty. 

In Afghanistan, 404 American personnel have died, of which 224 were killed
in action. Those deaths include 61 personnel who died in Pakistan and
Uzbekistan in support of the operation. Some 1,361 have been injured; 813
of them couldn't return to duty. 

In Iraq, an insurgency rages against U.S. and coalition forces. The first
six months this year were the deadliest yet for the American military,
with more than 580 killed. 

U.S. President George W. Bush ordered the invasion of Afghanistan in
response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington. The
U.S. accused the Taliban regime of hiding al-Qaeda leaders including Osama
bin Laden, wanted for the worst terror attacks on U.S. soil. American and
North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces are currently battling a
resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan. 

Between 66,939 and 73,253 civilians have died in Iraq since March 2003,
according to the Iraq Body Count Web site that counts casualties reported
by at least two media outlets. 



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