Suicides have outnumbered combat deaths in US troops in 2008 and 2009

bbc

Suicide among US troops has sharply increased this year, hitting a rate of almost one death per day, figures show.

As of 3 June, the army's 2012 active-duty suicides reached 154, compared with 130 in the same period last year, the Pentagon confirmed to the BBC.

The number far exceeds US combat deaths for the same period.

"We are deeply concerned about suicide in the military," a Pentagon spokeswoman said, adding it was "one of the most urgent problems" they faced.

While the reasons for the increase are not entirely understood, the army's own data suggest soldiers with multiple combat tours are at greater risk. But a portion of those taking their own life have never deployed, the figures show.