WASHINGTON, Aug 17: Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have contributed to a record increase in the number of suicides among US soldiers, now at its highest level since the first Gulf War, says an official report.

The figures are the highest since 1990-91, when the US Army reported 102 suicides at the peak of the first Gulf War.

In a report issued on Thursday, the US Army confirmed there were 99 suicides in 2006, compared to 87 such deaths in 2005. The figure for 2006 does not include two deaths being investigated as possible suicides.

Last year’s suicides amount to a rate of 17.3 per 100,000 Army service members. About 30 per cent of those suicides were of soldiers deployed to war zones.

Of the confirmed suicides last year, 25 were soldiers deployed to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars — which amounts to 40 per cent of the 64 suicides by Army soldiers in Iraq since the conflict began in March 2003.

When suicides among soldiers in Iraq spiked in the summer of 2003, the Army put together a mental health assessment team that met with troops. Investigators found the main factors for the suicides include failed personal relationships, legal and financial problems and the stress of their jobs. Staying away on military duty for long periods strains relations and often leads to a split.

“Although we are not alarmed by the slight increase, we do take suicide prevention very seriously,” Army spokesman Col. Joseph Curtin told reporters.

The suicide rate for the Army has fluctuated over the past 25 years, from a high of 15.8 per 100,000 in 1985 to a low of 9.1 per 100,000 in 2001. Last year it was nearly 13 per 100,000.

The US Army recorded 90 suicides in 1993, with a suicide rate of 14.2 per 100,000.

The Army rate is higher than the civilian suicide rate for 2003, which was 10.8 per 100,000, according to the National Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. But the Army number tracked closely with the rate for civilians aged 18-34, which was 12.19 per 100,000 in 2003.

Since then, the Army has increased the number of mental health professionals and placed combat stress teams with units. According to the Army, there are more than 230 mental health practitioners working in Iraq and Afghanistan, compared with “about a handful” when the war began, Col. Curtin said.

Soldiers also get cards and booklets that outline suicide warning signs and how to get help.