More US Soldiers are Committing Suicide

WASHINGTON — Ninety-nine U.S. soldiers killed themselves last year, the highest rate of suicide in the Army in 26 years of record keeping, a new report says. Nearly a third of soldiers who committed suicide did so while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, according to a report released Thursday. Iraq accounted for the overwhelming number — with 27 of the suicides coming from that conflict and three from Afghanistan. Also, there were 948 attempted suicides, officials said, adding that they didn’t have a comparison for previous years.

Failed personal relationships, legal and financial problems and the stress of their jobs were factors motivating the soldiers to commit suicide, according to the report. It also found a significant relationship between suicide attempts and the number of days deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan or nearby countries where troops were participating in the war effort.