SUICIDE IS PAINLESS NOW: Army Suicides Up 20% Over Last Year
WASHINGTON, Jan 31 (Reuters) — As many as 121 U.S. soldiers may have committed suicide in 2007, a record number if confirmed, according to Army statistics released on Thursday. The Army reported 89 suicides and 32 suspected cases among active-duty soldiers in 2007. If the 32 cases are confirmed, the 121 suicides would be a nearly 20 percent increase over 2006, when 102 soldiers committed suicide. Army officials said relationship problems were the main cause of suicides among soldiers, but those problems were increasing due to repeated long deployments as the force is strained by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The number of suicides has risen in four of the past five years for which complete data is available and the 2006 figure was the highest since 1991. The number of soldiers attempting suicide or inflicting injuries on themselves has also jumped in recent years. That figure rose from about 350 in 2002 to around 2,100 in 2007, although Ritchie said the large jump partly reflects better recordkeeping. [via REUTERS]
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INFINITE JUSTICE: Big Al-Qaeda Fish Blown To Bits By CIA
Jan 31 (Reuters) — Abu Laith al-Libi, an al Qaeda field commander in Afghanistan who has been described by Western intelligence officials as one of Osama bin Laden’s top six lieutenants, has been killed, U.S. officials and a mouthpiece for the organisation said on Thursday. In 2002, Libi was the first spokesman on behalf of al Qaeda to announce that Osama bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Omar were alive after the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan. U.S. media have said Libi was believed to be behind a suicide bombing in February 2007 that killed 23 people outside the main U.S. base in Afghanistan during a visit by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney. In October 2007, American media announced the U.S. military in Afghanistan had named Libi as one of several “mid-level” al Qaeda and Taliban leaders being sought and said it was offering a $200,000 bounty for each. [via REUTERS]
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KILLADELPHIA: Two Dead In West Philly Shoot ‘Em Up
Philadelphia police say two men apparently shot and killed each other during a gun battle just before noon on Thursday on a West Philadelphia street. Both men died at an area hospital as a result of their wounds. Police say the gunfire erupted in the unit block of North St. Bernard Street, near 50th and Market Streets. Police are investigating what led up to the shooting. Their deaths raise the murder count to 25 in 2008. [via KYW]