Temporal Changes in Combat Casualties From Afghanistan by Nationality: 2006–2010

Abstract

This study sought to evaluate temporal changes in combat deaths and improvised explosive device (IED)-related fatalities among three coalition allies in Afghanistan: the United States, Canada, and Great Britain. The website icasualties.org was used to identify American, Canadian, and British soldiers killed in combat in Afghanistan between 2006 and 2010. Population-at-risk was determined as the number of personnel serving within the Afghanistan theater for each coalition nation. Unadjusted incidence rates of combat deaths per deployed personnel, and IED deaths as a portion of total combat deaths, were derived and adjusted comparisons performed to control for confounders. Between 2006 and 2010, 1,673 combat deaths occurred in a population of 721,520 soldiers. Fifty percent of all combat deaths occurred as a result of IED attack. British personnel maintained the highest unadjusted risks of combat-related death, as well as IED-associated mortality. As compared to Americans, Canadian personnel were at a significantly increased risk of combat-related death and IED-related fatality. Among Americans, there was a significant reduction in IED-related deaths between 2010 and 2009. For Canadians, no significant change in IED fatalities as compared to total number of troops, or total combat deaths, was appreciated at any point in the study.