Faster response cutting IED death rate

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- The U.S. military says it has dramatically cut bomb deaths in Afghanistan with better treatment and faster evacuation of victims.

The Pentagon said 24 soldiers were killed by 180 improvised explosive devices in September, USA Today reported. The previous September, 46 servicemen died from 131 IEDs.

Ventilators distributed since 2008 to keep the wounded breathing have saved eight lives, said Army Col. Richard Todd Dombroski, surgeon for the Pentagon's Joint IED Defeat Organization. The ventilators are used aboard medevac helicopters.

Troops are also surviving at higher rates because the military has more Medevac helicopters and has moved hospitals closer to troops in combat, said U.S. Air Force Maj. Michael Johnson, a military spokesman in Kabul. Wounded troops are flown from the battlefield to a hospital about 25 percent faster than they were last year, the Pentagon said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates made speedy medical evacuation in Afghanistan a top priority in 2008.

Improvised explosive devices are still the leading killer of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and cause two out of three wounds in combat.

Insurgents planted 1,321 bombs that were detected or blew up in September, military officials said.