At least 856 US military deaths in Afghanistan region since 2001, Defense Department says

US military deaths in Afghanistan region at 856

As of Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009, at least 856 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department. The department last updated its figures Wednesday at 10 a.m. EDT.

Of those, the military reports 661 were killed by hostile action.

Outside the Afghan region, the Defense Department reports 71 more members of the U.S. military died in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Of those, four were the result of hostile action. The military lists these other locations as Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba; Djibouti; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Jordan; Kenya; Kyrgyzstan; Philippines; Seychelles; Sudan; Tajikistan; Turkey; and Yemen.

There were also four CIA officer deaths and one military civilian death.

The latest deaths reported by the military:

— No new deaths reported.

The latest identifications reported by the military:

— Air Force Tech. Sgt. Anthony C. Campbell Jr., 35, Florence, Ky.; died Tuesday after an improvised explosive device detonated in Helmand province, Afghanistan; assigned to the 932nd Civil Engineer Squadron, Scott Air Force Base, Ill.

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