Written question asked by Liam Fox (Conservative) on Monday, 23 February 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 25 February 2009. It was answered by Lord Beamish (Labour) on Wednesday, 1 April 2009 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Peacekeeping Operations

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what main injuries were sustained by each (a) very seriously injured or wounded and (b) seriously injured or wounded member of the armed forces personnel in (i) Iraq in each year since 2003 and (ii) Afghanistan in each year since 2002.

Answer: The Ministry of Defence publishes the numbers of personnel categorised as very seriously injured and seriously injured as a result of Operations TELIC and HERRICK on its website"www.mod.uk"The figures are updated fortnightly.We do not routinely sub-classify VSI and SI by the type of injury sustained, although academic work is in hand examining the nature of injuries sustained, which subject to security applications will be considered for publication.Some figures have previously been collated on amputee numbers. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence informed the House in a written answer on 16 December 2008, Official Report, column 554W, between 1 December 2007 and 30 November 2008 a total of 24 service personnel have suffered amputations due to injuries sustained while on operational deployment; one in Iraq and 23 in Afghanistan. These amputations can range from the loss of part of a finger or toe up to the loss of entire limb(s).

Secondary information