UK is suffering high casualties rate in Afghanistan than in Iraq

British troops are now suffering a higher wounded casualty rate in Afghanistan than in Iraq, according to new official figures.

The increase comes after Britain started to send troops to Afghanistan in a combat role in the southern province of Helmand from the beginning of 2007.

In a written parliamentary reply published Tuesday, Defence Minister Baroness Taylor revealed that in the 23 months up until November 2007, 307 British military personnel were admitted to medical facilities in Afghanistan having being wounded in action.

During the corresponding period in Iraq, Taylor said that 292 troops, 15 fewer, were admitted to medical facility after being wounded in Iraq.

The figures showed a complete reversal with regard to troops being admitted suffering from disease or non-battle injury, affecting only 721 in Afghanistan compared with 2,234 in Iraq.

No explanation was given for the huge discrepancies during the 23 month period.

Since the start of operations, there have been 174 UK military fatalities resulting from operations in Iraq and 86 resulting from operations in Afghanistan.

No comparable figures for medical admission in Afghanistan and Iraq have been compiled for the period prior to 2006, but Taylor said that the work was in hand to verify and validate information and would be published in due course.