UK troops highest war casualty rate

Jul 30 2009

British forces in Afghanistan suffered their highest casualty rate this month since the mission began, Ministry of Defence figures show.

Some 57 UK troops were wounded in action in the first two weeks of July alone compared with 46 in the whole of June and 24 in May.

Between July 1 and 15, 16 service personnel were seriously or very seriously injured, the statistics revealed.

July has also seen the most deaths since the mission began eight years ago with 22 soldiers killed ahead of provincial and presidential elections on August 20.

In total 95 UK personnel were admitted to a field hospital in Afghanistan in the first two weeks of this month, including 38 suffering from disease or a non-battle injury.

Nine British troops were judged to be very seriously wounded - meaning their injuries were life-threatening - and seven were seriously wounded.

British medics at the UK-run field hospital at Camp Bastion in Helmand Province were stretched by the upsurge in fighting.

This included a massive five-week offensive, known as Operation Panther's Claw, to drive the Taliban out of a former stronghold.

In one week alone this month 157 wounded people were taken to the Camp Bastion field hospital for treatment, including British, American and Estonian troops, as well as Afghan soldiers and civilians, and even enemy forces.