Afghanistan Casualties:
Military Forces and Civilians
Susan G. Chesser
Information Research Specialist
November 16, 2011
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
R41084
CRS Report for Congress
Pr
epared for Members and Committees of Congress
Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians
Summary
This report collects statistics from a variety of sources on casualties sustained during Operation
Enduring Freedom (OEF), which began on October 7, 2001, and is ongoing. OEF actions take
place primarily in Afghanistan; however, OEF casualties also includes American casualties in
Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Guantanamo Bay (Cuba), Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya,
Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines, Seychelles, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Yemen.
Casualty data of U.S. military forces are compiled by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), as
tallied from the agency’s press releases. Also included are statistics on those wounded but not
killed. Statistics may be revised as circumstances are investigated and as records are processed
through the U.S. military’s casualty system. More frequent updates are available at DOD’s
website at http://www.defenselink.mil/news/ under “Casualty Update.”
A detailed casualty summary of U.S. military forces that includes data on deaths by cause, as well
as statistics on soldiers wounded in action, is available at the following DOD website:
http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/castop.htm.
NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) does not post casualty statistics of the
military forces of partner countries on the ISAF website at http://www.isaf.nato.int/. ISAF press
releases state that it is ISAF policy to defer to the relevant national authorities to provide notice of
any fatality. For this reason, this report uses fatality data of coalition forces as compiled by
CNN.com and posted online at http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2004/oef.casualties/index.html.
Reporting on casualties of Afghans did not begin until 2007, and a variety of entities now report
the casualties of civilians and security forces members. The United Nations Assistance Mission to
Afghanistan (UNAMA) reports casualty data of Afghan civilians semiannually, and the U.S.
Department of Defense occasionally includes civilian casualty figures within its reports on
Afghanistan. The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, http://www.aihrc.org.af/
2010_eng/, and the Afghan Rights Monitor, http://www.arm.org.af/, are local watchdog
organizations that periodically publish reports regarding civilian casualties. From July 2009
through April 2010, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR)
included statistics of casualties of members of the Afghan National Army and Afghan National
Police in its quarterly reports to Congress. SIGAR has ceased this practice, and there is no other
published compilation of these statistics. This report now derives casualty figures of Afghan
soldiers and police from the press accounts of the Reuters “Factbox: Security Developments in
Afghanistan” series, the Pajhwok Afghan News agency, Daily Outlook Afghanistan from Kabul,
and the AfPak Channel Daily Brief. These services attribute their reported information to officials
of the NATO-led ISAF or local Afghan officials. Pajhwok Afghan News frequently concludes its
accounts with statements from representatives of the Taliban; however, these figures are not
included in this report.
Because the estimates of Afghan casualties contained in this report are based on varying time
periods and have been created using different methodologies, readers should exercise caution
when using them and should look to them as guideposts rather than as statements of fact.
This report will be updated as needed.
Congressional Research Service
Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians
he following tables present data on U.S. military casualties in Operation Enduring
Freedom, deaths of coalition partners in Afghanistan, and Afghan casualties, respectively.
T Table 1. Operation Enduring Freedom, U.S. Fatalities and Wounded
(as of November 16, 2011, 10 a.m. EDT from October 7, 2001)
Fatalities in and
Fatalities in
Around
Other
Total
Afghanistana
Locationsb
Fatalitiesc
Wounded in Action
Hostiled 1,440
12
1,452
Non-Hostilee 283 91 374
Total 1,723
103
1,826
Total
14,837
Source: U.S. Department of Defense, http://www.defense.gov/news/casualty.pdf.
a. “Fatalities in and around Afghanistan” includes casualties that occurred in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and
Uzbekistan.
b. “Other locations” includes casualties that occurred in Guantanamo Bay (Cuba), Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia,
Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines, Seychelles, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Yemen.
c. Fatalities include two Department of Defense civilian personnel.
d. According to the Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms, as amended through
31 August 2005, a “hostile casualty” is a victim of a terrorist activity or a casualty as the result of combat
or attack by any force against U.S. forces, available at http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/dod_dictionary/.
e. The above-named reference defines a “nonhostile casualty” as a casualty that is not directly attributable to
hostile action or terrorist activity, such as casualties due to the elements, self-inflicted wounds, or combat
fatigue.
Table 2. American Casualties by Year Through November 16, 2011
Year
Total Deaths
Total Wounded in Action
2001 11 33
2002 49 74
2003 45 99
2004 52 218
2005 98 268
2006 98 400
2007 117 749
2008 155 795
2009 311 2,142
2010
499
5,240
2011 through November 16
391
4,820
Source: U.S. Department of Defense, Statistical Information Analysis Division, http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/
personnel/CASUALTY/oefmonth.pdf.
Congressional Research Service
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Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians
Figure 1. American Casualties by Year Through November 16, 2011
6000
5000
/Wounded 4000
3000
nel Killed 2000
erson 1000
. P
S
U.
0
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Total Deaths
Total Wounded in Action
Source: Created by CRS based on data from U.S. Department of Defense, Statistical Information Analysis
Division, http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/oefmonth.pdf.
Table 3. Deaths of Coalition Partners in Afghanistan
# of Deaths
Total # of
# of Deaths
Total # of
Countrya
2011
Deaths Country 2011
Deaths
Australia 12 32
Latvia
4
Belgium 1
Lithuania 1
Canada 4 158
Netherlands
25
Czech Republic
1
3
New Zealand
2
4
Denmark 3 42
Norway 1 10
Estonia 1 9
Poland 7 30
Finland 1 2
Portugal 2
France 22
76
Romania 2 19
Georgia 3 8
South
Korea
1
Germany 7 52
Spain
4 34
Hungary 2 6
Sweden
4
Italy 9
44
Turkey
2
Jordan 1 1
United
Kingdom
35
385
Total Non-U.S. Coalition Fatalities 117
955
Sources: CNN Casualties in Afghanistan, http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/war.casualties/table.afghanistan.html;
Canada’s Department of National Defence, http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/news-nouvelles/fallen-disparus/index-
eng.asp; United Kingdom Ministry of Defense, http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/
OperationsFactsheets/OperationsInAfghanistanBritishFatalities.htm; Australia’s Department of Defence,
http://www.defence.gov.au/op/afghanistan/info/personnel.htm; “Factbox: Military Deaths in Afghanistan,” Reuters
News, November 15, 2011.
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Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians
a. Countries listed indicate the nationality of the military forces, not of the individuals. For example, Fijians
who were killed while fighting in French forces are counted as French. Similarly, citizens of other nations
who fight in American military forces are counted as Americans.
Table 4. Afghan Casualties
Group
Period
# of Casualties
Note
Afghan Civilians
January-October 2011a 2,177
killed
At least 10 civilians were killed and 42
injured when two magnetic bombs
2,928 injured
attached to a fuel tanker on the road
to the U.S. Bagram Airfield exploded.
2010b 2,777
killed
Anti-government elements (AGEs),
which include the Taliban and other
4,343 injured
individuals or groups who engage in
armed conflict with the government of
Afghanistan or members of the
International Military Forces, were
reported responsible for 75% of the
civilian deaths and 78% of civilian
injuries. The number of civilians
assassinated by AGEs increased 105%,
to 462 persons, compared with civilian
assassinations in 2009.
2009c 2,412
killed
67% of civilian deaths were attributed
to actions of AGEs (78% of these
3,566 injured
deaths were caused by improvised
explosive devices and suicide attacks).
25% of civilian deaths were attributed
to pro-government forces.
8% of civilian deaths were the result of
cross-fire or improperly detonated
ordnance.
2008d
2,118 killed
2007d
1,523 killed
Afghan National Army
January-October 2011e 283
killed
Seven Afghan soldiers died in a Taliban
ambush on the Farah-Herat highway.
221 wounded
2010
821
killedf
Information released by General Zahir
Azimi, spokesman for the Afghan
775 woundedg
Defence Ministry.
2009h 292
killed
859 wounded
2008i 259
killed
875 wounded
2007i 278
killed
750 wounded
Afghan National and
January-October 2011e 491
killed
Fatalities in September included
Local Police
several district police chiefs, local
466 wounded
commanders, and the first two Afghan
policewomen to be killed in the line of
duty.
Congressional Research Service
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Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians
Group
Period
# of Casualties
Note
2010j 1,292
killed
743 wounded
2009k 639
killed
1,145 wounded
2008l 724
killed
1,209 wounded
2007l 688
killed
1,036 wounded
Source: Compiled by the Congressional Research Service from noted sources.
a. United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan, Afghanistan: Mid-Year Report 2011 Protection of Civilians in
Armed Conflict, July 2011, http://unama.unmissions.org/Portals/UNAMA/Documents/
2011%20Midyear%20POC.pdf; and May Deadliest Month for Afghan Civilians, June 11, 2011,
http://unama.unmissions.org/Portals/UNAMA/Press%20Statements/
June09_%202011_UNAMA%20POC_Eng.pdf; United Nations, Report of the Secretary-General, The
Situation in Afghanistan and Its Implications for International Peace and Security, September 21, 2011,
http://unama.unmissions.org/Portals/UNAMA/SG%20Reports/
110921%20SG%20Report%20on%20Afghanistan%20FINAL.pdf; and various press reports.
b. United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan, Human Rights Unit, Afghanistan: Annual Report on
Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, 2010, March 2011, p. i-1, http://unama.unmissions.org/Portals/
UNAMA/human%20rights/March%20PoC%20Annual%20Report%20Final.pdf.
c. United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan, Human Rights Unit, Afghanistan: Annual Report on
Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, 2009, January 2010, p. I, http://unama.unmissions.org/Portals/
UNAMA/human%20rights/Protection%20of%20Civilian%202009%20report%20English.pdf.
d. United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan, Human Rights Unit, Afghanistan: Annual Report on
Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, 2008, January 2009, p. 12, http://unama.unmissions.org/Portals/
UNAMA/human%20rights/UNAMA_09february-Annual%20Report_PoC%202008_FINAL_11Feb09.pdf.
e. Press reports from Reuters, the Pajhwok Afghan News agency, Daily Outlook Afghanistan, and the AfPak
Channel Daily Brief.
f.
“Bomb Kills Five U.S. Troops in Southern Afghanistan,” Reuters News, August 11, 2011.
g. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress,
April 30, 2010, p. 58, http://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/Apr2010/SIGARapril_Lores.pdf; response
via e-mail from the staff of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, August 9, 2010;
and press reports from Reuters and the Pajhwok Afghan News agency.
h. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress,
July 30, 2009, p. 55. http://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/Jul09/pdf/Report_-_July_2009.pdf; Quarterly
Report to the United States Congress, October 30, 2009, p. 62, http://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/
Oct09/pdf/SIGAROct2009Web.pdf; and Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction,
Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, January 30, 2010, p. 64, http://www.sigar.mil/pdf/
quarterlyreports/jan2010/pdf/SIGAR_Jan2010.pdf.
i.
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress,
July 30, 2009, p. 55, http://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/Jul09/pdf/Report_-_July_2009.pdf.
j.
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress,
April 30, 2010, p. 64, http://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/Apr2010/SIGARapril_Lores.pdf; response
via e-mail from the staff of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, August 9, 2010;
“Blast Leaves 2 Afghan Soldiers Dead in Logar,” Pajhwok Afghan News, January 8, 2011, and press reports
from Reuters and the Pajhwok Afghan News agency and “Bomb Kills Five U.S. Troops in Southern
Afghanistan,” Reuters News, August 11, 2011.
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Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians
k. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress,
July 30, 2009, p. 60, http://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/Jul09/pdf/Report_-_July_2009.pdf; Quarterly
Report to the United States Congress, October 30, 2009, p. 66, http://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/
Oct09/pdf/SIGAROct2009Web.pdf; and Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction,
Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, January 30, 2010, p. 69, http://www.sigar.mil/pdf/
quarterlyreports/jan2010/pdf/SIGAR_Jan2010.pdf.
l.
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress,
July 30, 2009, p. 60, http://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/Jul09/pdf/Report_-_July_2009.pdf.
Author Contact Information
Susan G. Chesser
Information Research Specialist
schesser@crs.loc.gov, 7-9547
Congressional Research Service
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