WASHINGTON - The number of U.S. troops wounded in Iraq since the start of the war in March 2003 has surpassed 10,000, the Pentagon said Tuesday in a delayed update of its casualty data.

Of the 10,252 total wounded, the Pentagon said 5,396 were unable to return to duty and 4,856 sustained injuries that were light enough to allow them to resume their duties. The total is normally reported each week, but the Pentagon had not updated the figures since Dec. 22, when the number of wounded stood at 9,981.

The number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq stood at 1,335 on Tuesday, according to the Pentagon.

In a related development, the Pentagon announced that a brigade-size unit of the 28th Infantry Division of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, said to number about 2,400 part-time soldiers, will deploy to Iraq as part of a rotation of troops scheduled to begin in mid-2005.

The 48th Infantry Brigade of the Georgia Army National Guard is the other major National Guard unit in the 2005 rotation, which was outlined by the Pentagon in a Dec. 14 announcement that did not mention the Pennsylvania Guard unit.

© Copyright 2005 Associated Press

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