Tri-Service

Afghan War Injury Statistics Published

Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT) recovering a casualty from operations in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

The Government has published a one-off official statistic detailing the injuries sustained by members of the British Armed Forces during the War in Afghanistan.

The figures, based on the activation of trauma teams, were compiled while the UK Field Hospital was in operation from April 1st 2006 through to November 30th 2014.

In total 4,220 troops sustained injuries, approximately half from combat - a figure which includes those who subsequently died from their wounds and those that survived to the point of being discharged.

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Explosions, from mines and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), were the main cause of injury, followed by small arms fire including rocket propelled grenades.

Approximately half of the injuries sustained by trauma patients were to the

extremities, with the largest number of injuries sustained to the knee and lower leg.

The main types of injury, regardless of where on the body they occurred, were open wounds, fractures and shrapnel wounds.

The figures also reveal that Royal Marines were at the highest risk of injury during the conflict, higher than that of the Army due to the larger numbers of personnel deployed as front line combat troops.

Op HERRICK itself claimed the lives of 453 UK service personnel - 353 killed in action, 51 dying of their wounds and a further 49 passing away through other causes.

Watch: The Challenges Of Saving Lives In Combat Zones