Number of Troops Wounded in Iraq Surges

The number of American troops wounded in Iraq has soared in the last two weeks as the insurgency flared in south-central Iraq and the Sunni Triangle north and west of Baghdad.

The Pentagon announced Friday in its weekly casualty report that 3,864 troops have been wounded in action since the war began in March 2003, an increase of 595 from two weeks earlier.

The U.S. military death toll rose to 708 Friday with the announcement that a Marine had died of wounds suffered April 14 in Al Anbar province, which includes the city of Fallouja. At least 100 have been killed this month, the highest monthly total since the U.S.-led invasion began.

As the toll on U.S. forces has mounted, public attention has focused on the deaths. Less has been reported about the wounded, in part because the Pentagon has stopped providing daily updates and provides no details on the types or severity of the injuries.

The only distinction the Pentagon makes in its public reports is between the number of wounded troops who return to duty within three days and those who do not. In the last two weeks, the number who returned to duty rose by 257 and the number who did not rose by 338.

The number wounded since April 1 is nearing 900, far more than the 200 to 300 wounded in most months during the conflict. In March, 291 troops were wounded in action.

The highest monthly total before April was 413 in October, according to the Pentagon’s Directorate for Information Operations and Reports.

The figures do not include troops who are injured in accidents or felled by illness.

Many of the U.S. combat wounds have been inflicted by homemade bombs, which the military calls improvised explosive devices and are often concealed along roads used by military convoys.

Since the insurgency intensified, starting March 31, many troops have been wounded in gunfights, particularly in and around the cities of Fallouja and Ramadi in the Sunni Triangle.

The great majority of battle wounds have occurred since President Bush declared an end to major combat operations on May 1. Since then, more than 2,700 troops have been wounded in action, 109 of whom were women.