NEWS FLASH

U.S. Troop Deaths In Afghanistan At 4-Year Low | Reuters reported last month that 2011 would most likely see a decline in U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan. USA Today confirmed the numbers in a report this morning, noting troop deaths in Afghanistan declined in 2011 for the first time in four years. The number of U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan totaled 405 last year, down 18 percent from 2010, according to Pentagon reports compiled by USA Today. NATO and other allied deaths totaled 545 in 2011, down from 699 in 2010. USA Today notes that the “coalition death toll had been rising since 2005.”