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Written question asked by David Amess (Conservative) on Tuesday, 26 February 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 28 February 2008. It was answered by Bob Ainsworth (Labour) on Thursday, 13 March 2008 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed services stationed in Iraq were (a) killed, (b) seriously injured and (c) slightly injured in Iraq in each year since 2003, broken down by (i) sex, (ii) age, (iii) regiment and (iv) service.
Answer

As at 25 February 2008, 173 UK service personnel have died while on deployment, or as a result of injuries sustained in Iraq. Of the 173 service personnel who have died, information for two soldiers have not been publicly released and thus their detailed information has been excluded from the following tables. This is consistent with the order of the coroner. In the event that this order changes, I will inform the House.Since the start of operations in 2003, six female UK service personnel have died while on deployment, or as a result of injuries sustained in Iraq.A breakdown of fatalities by age and by year is provided in the following table:

Table 1: Operational fatalities in Iraq: UK armed forces personnel, by age and calendar year, number, 2003-07
All 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
All 173 52 22 23 29 47
<20 years 14 4 2 1 2 5
20-24 50 10 8 5 6 21
25-29 44 12 6 4 12 10
30-34 34 15 6 5 4 4
35-39 20 9 0 5 3 3
40+ 9 2 0 3 2 2
Not released 2 0 0 0 0 2

A breakdown of fatalities by corps/unit and by year is provided in the following table:

Table 2: Operational fatalities in Iraq: UK armed forces personnel, by corp¹/unit and calendar year, number, 2003-07
Service Corps/unit All 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
All 173 52 22 23 29 47
Naval Service² 1 Assault Group 2 2 0 0 0 0
3 Commando Brigade 9 7 0 0 2 0
847 Naval Air Squadron 2 0 0 0 2 0
849 Naval Air Squadron 6 6 0 0 0 0
Army Army Air Corps 1 0 0 0 1 0
Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers 5 1 3 0 0 1
Corps of Royal Engineers 3 2 1 0 0 0
Corps of Royal Military Police 12 9 1 1 0 1
Duke of Lancaster's Regiment 9 1 0 0 2 6
Foot Guards 8 2 1 2 0 3
Household Cavalry 3 3 0 0 0 0
Intelligence Corps 2 0 0 1 1 0
Mercian Regiment 5 0 1 3 0 1
Parachute Regiment 6 1 0 0 3 2
Princess of Wales Royal Regiment 2 0 2 0 0 0
Royal Anglian Regiment 2 0 0 0 2 0
Royal Armoured Corps 14 3 0 1 5 5
Royal Army Medical Corps 3 0 0 0 1 2
Royal Corps of Signals 5 1 0 2 1 1
Royal Logistic Corps 5 2 0 0 0 3
Royal Regiment of Artillery 8 3 1 0 4 0
Royal Regiment of Fusiliers 5 1 0 4 0 0
Royal Regiment of Scotland 14 3 8 0 1 2
The Rifles 13 0 2 0 2 9
The Royal Welsh 5 1 1 0 0 3
Yorkshire Regiment 1 0 0 0 0 1
RAF 1 Squadron RAF Regiment 3 0 0 0 0 3
16 Squadron 1 1 0 0 0 0
230 Squadron 1 0 0 0 0 1
28 Army Co-operation Squadron 2 0 0 0 2 0
33 Squadron 1 0 1 0 0 0
47 Squadron 5 0 0 5 0 0
504 Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air Force 1 0 0 0 0 1
Engineering Wing, RAF Lyneham 3 0 0 3 0 0
HQ STC Air Staff 1 0 0 1 0 0
IX (B) Squadron 2 2 0 0 0 0
RAF Police 1 1 0 0 0 0
Information not released 2 0 0 0 0 2
¹ The breakdown for Army Corps is presented for the current Army structure (following the merger of many regiments over the last few years).
² Naval Service includes Royal Navy and Royal Marines.

A breakdown of fatalities by service and by year is provided in the following table:

Table 3: Operational fatalities in Iraq: UK armed forces personnel, by service and calendar year, numbers, 2003-07
All 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
All 173 52 22 23 29 47
Naval Service¹ 19 15 0 0 4 0
Army 131 33 21 14 23 40
RAF 21 4 1 9 2 5
Not released 2 0 0 0 0 2
¹ Naval service includes Royal Navy and Royal Marines.

As at 31 December 2007, 212 UK Service personnel have been very seriously or seriously injured while on deployment in Iraq. Details which can be released without potential disclosure of individual identities include:Since the start of operations in 2003, six female UK service personnel have been very seriously or seriously injured while on deployment in Iraq.A breakdown of very seriously and seriously injured personnel by age and by year is provided in the following table:

Table 4: Operational very serious and seriously injured¹ personnel in Iraq: UK armed forces personnel, by age and calendar year, number, 2003-07
All 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
All 212 46 45 20 32 69
<20 years 39 8 10 2 7 12
20-24 71 14 17 10 12 18
25-29 44 11 8 3 8 14
30-34 26 7 5 2 3 9
35-39 24 4 4 2 2 12
40+ 8 2 1 1 0 4
¹ Excluding natural causes.

Information on the breakdown of very seriously and seriously injured by regiment (or other service equivalent) cannot be released without disclosing individual identities.A breakdown of very seriously and seriously injured personnel by service and by year is provided in the following table:

Table 5: Operational very serious and seriously injured¹ personnel in Iraq: UK armed forces personnel, by service and calendar year, number, 2003-07
All 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
All 212 46 45 20 32 69
Naval Service² 6 2 0 0 3 1
Army 189 40 42 19 28 60
RAF 17 4 3 1 1 8
¹ Excluding natural causes.
² Naval service includes Royal Navy and Royal Marines.

Information on slight injuries is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
190801; 473 c661-4W;473 c658-61W
Session
2007-08
Subjects
Iraq Peacekeeping operations
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk