U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan at 1,980
As of Sept. 11, 2012, at least 1,980 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan as a result of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to an Associated Press count.
At least 1,652 military service members have died in Afghanistan as a result of hostile action, according to the military’s numbers.
Outside of Afghanistan, the department reports at least 118 more members of the U.S. military died in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Of those, 12 were the result of hostile action.
The AP count of total OEF casualties outside of Afghanistan is one fewer than the department’s tally.
The Defense Department also counts three military civilian deaths.
Since the start of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan, 17,519 U.S. service members have been wounded in hostile action, according to the Defense Department. AP
Timing `sensitive’ for U.S.-led Gulf exercises
Iran’s foreign ministry says the country will closely monitor U.S.-led naval exercises planned for next week in the Persian Gulf.
Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters Sept. 11 that the military maneuvers are a “very sensitive phenomenon” amid rising tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program.
The U.S.-led exercises are to include minesweeping operations seen as a direct response to Iranian warnings earlier this year that it could close the strategic oil shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for tighter Western sanctions. Tehran later withdrew the threat, but the region still faces risks of possible Israeli military action against Iran’s nuclear sites.
The U.S. and its allies suspect Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapon, a charge Iran denies.
Iran usually conducts its own war games in the fall. AP
