A total of 41 active-duty U.S. Marines committed suicide in 2008, up from 33 in the previous year, according to a report issued on Tuesday.

Last year's Marine suicide rate was the highest since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, said the report published by the Los Angeles Times on its website.

Forty-one Marines are listed as possible or confirmed suicides in 2008, or 16.8 per 100,000 troops, and nearly all were enlisted Marines under age 24, said the report prepared by the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments.

About two-thirds of those who committed suicide had been deployed overseas, said the report.

The Marine suicide rate is lower than the Army's in 2007 and that for civilian populations with similar demographics.

The suicide rate of the army in 2007 stood at 18.1 per 100,000 troops and that for civilians was 19.5 people per 100,000, according to the report.

The Army suicide figures for 2008 have not yet been released, but officials said late last year that they expected the number and rate to increase from 2007.

Source:Xinhua