Coalition casualties in Afghanistan

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Throughout the War in Afghanistan, there had been 3,606 coalition deaths in Afghanistan as part of the coalition operations (Operation Enduring Freedom and ISAF) since the invasion in 2001.^[1] In this total, the American figure is for deaths "In and Around Afghanistan" which, as defined by the United States Department of Defense, includes some deaths in Pakistan and Uzbekistan^[3] and the deaths of 18 CIA operatives.^[4]

In addition to these deaths in Afghanistan, another 59 U.S. and one Canadian soldier were killed in other countries while supporting operations in Afghanistan. The total also omits the 62 Spanish soldiers returning from Afghanistan who died in Turkey on 26 May 2003, when their plane crashed.

During the first five years of the war, the vast majority of coalition deaths were American, but between 2006 and 2011, a significant proportion were amongst other nations, particularly the United Kingdom and Canada which have been assigned responsibility for the flashpoint provinces of Helmand and Kandahar, respectively. This is because in 2006, ISAF expanded its jurisdiction to the southern regions of Afghanistan which were previously under the direct authority of the U.S. military. As Robert Gates pointed out on 10 June 2011, in his "last policy speech" as U.S. Secretary of Defense, "more than 850 troops from non-U.S. NATO members have made the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan. For many allied nations these were the first military casualties they have taken since the end of the Second World War."^[5] Additionally, there have been 95 fatalities among troops from the non-NATO contributors to the coalition (Georgia, Australia, Sweden, New Zealand, Finland, Jordan, South Korea and Albania).

With 711 Operation Enduring Freedom and ISAF deaths, 2010 was the deadliest year for foreign military troops since the U.S. invasion in 2001, continuing the trend that occurred every year since 2003.^[1]

In 2009, there were 7,228 improvised explosive device (IED) attacks in Afghanistan, a 120% increase over 2008, and a record for the war.^[6][7] Of the 512 foreign soldiers killed in 2009, 448 were killed in action. 280 of those were killed by IEDs.^[8] In 2010, IED attacks in Afghanistan wounded 3,366 U.S. soldiers, which is nearly 60% of the total IED-wounded since the start of the war.^[9] Of the 711 foreign soldiers killed in 2010, 630 were killed in action. 368 of those were killed by IEDs, which is around 36% of the total IED-killed since the start of the war to date.^[1] Insurgents planted 14,661 IEDs in 2010, a 62% increase over the previous year.^[10]