SUICIDE is the top killer of US troops fighting ISIS in Middle East
SOLDIERS battling Islamic State militants are committing suicide before they can be targeted by deadly air strikes, according to official statistics.
American soldiers are committing suicide before jihadi's can launch air strikes on them
The United States Department of Defence released a horrifying report two days after Christmas which revealed nearly half of all soldier deaths were a result of suicide.
Although US military casualties in Operation Inherent Resolve - the fight against ISIS which began in 2014 - have been low, military experts are concerned that 11 out of 31 US troop deaths were the result of suicide.
Soldiers who commit suicide cannot handle it
Out of the remaining deaths, eight were a result of combat, seven from accidents and four were due to illness or injury.
Rajeev Ramchand, a senior behavioural scientist at the Rand Corp said the government must explore all possible reasons why troops may resort to suicide.
Donald Trump had a lack of sympathy for soldier suicides during his election campaign
He said: “I don’t think there’s one single cause for it. There are a multitude of factors. Maybe there’s a universal stress on everyone in the military that affects them in profound ways.”
In his own research, he believes mental illness leads the soldiers to such a low state, but post-traumatic stress and anxiety from the prolonged war could be other factors.
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Although the US military estimates 50,000 ISIS fighters have been killed by bombs and missiles fired from warplanes and drones, 2016 has been a deadly year for the brave soldiers.
Ramchand added: “The rate of suicide in the military has doubled. Almost 20 per 100,000 troops commit suicide which is just as much as the general population.”
Earlier this year, the largest loss of life in a single incident occurred in Jordan when three Special Forces soldiers were shot by a guard as they tried to enter an air base.
The US Defence Department located in the Pentagon was bombed in the 9/11 attacks
Peter Chiarelli, Former Vice Chief of Staff of the US Army was frustrated at the suicide rates
Last year, Master Sgt. Joshua Wheeler, a member of the Army’s super-elite Delta Force was the only soldier who died in battle, after he was brutally gunned down for freeing 70 prisoners in northern Iraq.
Former General Peter Chiarelli expressed his frustration with the government's inability to drive down soldier suicide. During his time as Vice Chief of Staff, he made suicide prevention a top priority, according to sources.