Washington (CNN) -- More than 1,000 American troops have now been killed in Afghanistan, according to CNN calculations. The United States passed that grim milestone Tuesday, when an improvised explosive device killed two of its troops in southern Afghanistan, bringing the total to 1,001. The death toll does not include those killed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in other countries. But the large number of casualties is in sharp contrast to the rates from another recent war. The deaths of these service members come 104 months since the start of the war in Afghanistan, compared with the war in Iraq, where more than 1,000 U.S. troops were killed in the first 18 months of fighting.
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Death toll at 1,001 after explosion in southern Afghanistan
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But fatalities have come slower than in Iraq war
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Coalition forces working to secure Helmand Province
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New offensive will target Taliban fighters in Kandahar
More than a million @placeholder live in Kandahar, and the Taliban are embedded in the population.