At least 861 US military deaths in Afghanistan region since 2001, Defense Department says
By APThursday, December 31, 2009
US military deaths in Afghanistan region at 861
As of Thursday, Dec. 31, 2009, at least 861 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department. The department last updated its figures Thursday at 10 a.m. EDT.
Of those, the military reports 665 were killed by hostile action.
Outside the Afghan region, the Defense Department reports 72 more members of the U.S. military died in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Of those, four were the result of hostile action. The military lists these other locations as Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba; Djibouti; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Jordan; Kenya; Kyrgyzstan; Philippines; Seychelles; Sudan; Tajikistan; Turkey; and Yemen.
The Defense Department also reported four CIA officer deaths and one military civilian death. Those numbers did not include casualties in southeastern Afghanistan on Wednesday.
The latest deaths reported by the military:
— No new deaths reported.
The latest identifications reported by the military:
— Army Staff Sgt. Ronald J. Spino, 45, Waterbury, Conn.; died Tuesday in Bala Morghab, Afghanistan of wounds suffered when he was shot while unloading supplies; assigned to the 274th Forward Surgical Team, 44th Medical Command, Fort Bragg, N.C.
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