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WASHINGTON - SUICIDE rates in the US Army have soared over the past three years, hitting levels not seen in more than a quarter century, army figures released on Thursday show.
More than 2,000 soldiers tried to take their own lives in 2006, according to the army figures.
That year, 102 active duty soldiers committed suicide, almost double the number in 2001, the year that saw the launch of a succession of US-led wars that have strained the US military.
The figures indicate that the number of suicides were even higher in 2007, with 89 confirmed suicides and another 32 deaths awaiting confirmation as suicides.
The suicide rate in the active duty army spiked to 17.5 per 100,000 soldiers by the end of 2006, up from 12.8 per 100,000 at the start of the year and exceeding a previous high of 15.8 per 100,000 in the mid-1980s.
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