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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20031014/hl_afp/us_iraq_suicide_031014042337 Army studying high rate of suicide among US soldiers in Iraq Tue Oct 14,12:23 AM ET WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US army has sent mental health specialists to Iraq (news - web sites) to determine why so many soldiers are committing suicide there, a US media report said Eleven US soldiers and three Marines have killed themselves in the past seven months in Iraq -- an annualized rate of 17 suicides per 100,000 soldiers. The usual rate of army suicides is 13 per 100,000 soldiers, the report in the USA Today newspaper said. 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. "Is there something different going on in Iraq that we really need to pay attention to?" Most of the suicides have occurred since May 1, when major combat operations were declared ended. 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. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search http://shopping.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk