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Monday, October 13, 2003

US Army probes high suicide rate among troops in Iraq

Agence France-Presse
Washington, October 13

The US Army has sent mental health specialists to Iraq to determine why so
many soldiers are committing suicide there, a media report said on Monday.
Eleven US soldiers and three Marines have killed themselves in the past
seven months in Iraq -- a rate of 17 suicides per 100,000 soldiers. The
usual rate of army suicides is 13 per 100,000 soldiers, USA Today reported.
A dozen other Army deaths being investigated in Iraq could include suicides,
and the US Navy is also investigating one possible suicide, it said.

"The number of suicides has caused the Army to be concerned," said
Lieutenant Colonel Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, an army psychiatrist helping to
investigate the deaths.

Most of the suicides have occurred since May 1, when major combat operations
were declared over.

Depression, harsh and dangerous living conditions, a long deployment and the
accessibility of weapons could contribute to the problem, experts said.
The Army has sent 478 soldiers home from Iraq for mental-health reasons, the
daily said.

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