At least 716 US military deaths in Afghanistan region since 2001, Defense Department says

US military deaths in Afghanistan region at 716

As of Saturday, Aug. 22, 2009, at least 716 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 Friday at 10 a.m. EDT.

Of those, the military reports 541 were killed by hostile action.

Outside the Afghan region, the Defense Department reports 69 more members of the U.S. military died in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Of those, three 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:

— Army Spc. Justin R. Pellerin, 21, Boscawen, N.H.; died Thursday in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive detonated near his vehicle; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.

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