Afghanistan Casualties:
Military Forces and Civilians
Susan G. Chesser
Information Research Specialist
July 12, 2012
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/
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, the Afghan Islamic Press 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.
The Afghan news agencies frequently include statements from representatives of the Taliban;
however, any figures such spokesmen provide 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 July 12, 2012, 10 a.m. EDT from October 7, 2001)
Fatalities in and
Fatalities in
Around
Other
Total
Afghanistana
Locationsb
Fatalitiesc
Wounded in Action
Hostiled 1,589
12
1,601
Nonhostilee
327 102 429
Total 1,916
114
2,030
Total
16,781
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 three 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 July 12, 2012
Year
Total Deaths
Total Wounded in Action
2001 11 33
2002 49 74
2003 45 99
2004 52 218
2005 98 268
2006 98 401
2007 117 750
2008 155 795
2009 311 2,145
2010
499
5,246
2011 414 5,195
2012 through July 12
181
1,557
Source: U.S. Department of Defense, Statistical Information Analysis Division, https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/dcas/
pages/report_oef_month.xhtml.
Congressional Research Service
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Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians
Figure 1. American Casualties by Year Through July 12, 2012
7000
d
6000
ounde 5000
d/W
ille 4000
l K 3000
onne 2000
rs
. Pe 1000
S
U.
0
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Total Deaths
Total Wounded in Action
Source: Created by CRS based on data from U.S. Department of Defense, Statistical Information Analysis
Division, https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/dcas/pages/report_oef_month.xhtml.
Table 3. Deaths of Coalition Partners in Afghanistan
# of
Total #
# of
Total #
# of
Total #
Deaths
of
Deaths
of
Deaths
of
Countrya
2012
Deaths
Country
2012
Deaths
Country
2012
Deaths
Albania 1
1
Germany
52
Poland
36
Australia 1
33
Hungary
6
Portugal
2
Belgium
1
Italy
5
49
Romania
19
Canada
158
Jordan
1
South 1
Korea
Denmark
42
Latvia
4
Spain 1
35
Estonia
9
Lithuania
1
Sweden
4
Finland
2
Netherlands
25
Turkey
12
14
France 9
87
New
1 5
United 28 422
Zealand
Kingdom
Georgia 3
12
Norway
10
Total Non-U.S. Fatalities of the International Security
60 1,031
Assistance Force
Source: 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; Ministero della Difesa, http://www.difesa.it/
OperazioniMilitari/op_intern_corso/ISAF/Pagine/IncidentieCaduti.aspx; “Factbox: Military Deaths in Afghanistan,”
Reuters News, July 9, 2012.
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.
Congressional Research Service
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Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians
Table 4. Afghan Casualties
Group Period
Number
of
Casualties
Note
Afghan Civilians
January-May 2012a 775
killed
More than 400 schoolgirls
and teachers were sickened
1,818 wounded
by toxic substances sprayed
in their schools or poured
into their drinking water in at
least three such attacks.
11,864 civilians have
2011b 3,021
killed
Anti-government elements
been killed in the conflict
killed 2,332 civilians, 77% of
since 2007, when the
4,507 injured
all conflict-related civilian
United Nations began
Includes 495 targeted
deaths. Pro-government
reporting statistics, to
killings of local, provincial,
forces were responsible for
the end of 2011.
and district government
410 civilian deaths. It is
officials and workers.
unclear who caused the
remaining 279 deaths.
2010c 2,777
killed
AGEs were reported
responsible for 75% of the
4,343 injured
civilian deaths and 78% of
civilian injuries.
2009d 2,412
killed
67% of civilian deaths were
attributed to actions of AGEs
3,566 injured
(78% of these 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.
2008e 2,118
killed
2007e
1,523 killed
Afghan National
January-May 2012a 165
killed
The Taliban announced the
Army and National
start of their spring offensive,
Directorate of
305 wounded
Al-Farooq, to target foreign
Security Operatives
troops, Afghan advisers,
contractors, and members of
all military, intelligence, and
allied agencies.
2011a 511
killed
256 wounded
2010 821
killedf
Information released by
General Zahir Azimi,
775 woundedg
spokesman for the Afghan
Defence Ministry.
2009h 292
killed
859 wounded
Congressional Research Service
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Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians
Group Period
Number
of
Casualties
Note
2008i 259
killed
875 wounded
2007i 278
killed
750 wounded
Afghan National,
January-May 2012a 304
killed
Ten policemen in Badghis
Local, and Border
province ate poisoned food
Police
380 wounded
and had to be transported to
a hospital. On the return to
their post, the police vehicle
struck a roadside bomb; four
policemen died.
2011a 569
killed
552 wounded
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. “Civilian Casualties in Afghanistan Falling in 2012, U.N. Says,” The New York Times, May 30, 2012; press
reports from Reuters, the Pajhwok Afghan News agency, Daily Outlook Afghanistan, the Afghan Islamic Press,
and the AfPak Channel Daily Brief.
b. United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan, Afghanistan: Annual Report 2011, Protection of Civilians in
Armed Conflict, February 2012, p. 1-2, 4, http://unama.unmissions.org/Portals/UNAMA/Documents/
UNAMA%20POC%202011%20Report_Final_Feb%202012.pdf.
c. 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.
d. 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.
e. 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.
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
email 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/
Congressional Research Service
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Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians
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, 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.
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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