By IRNA,
Berlin : Number of traumatized German soldiers returning from foreign military missions continues to surge, the daily Mitteldeutsche Zeitung reported in its Wednesday edition.
Around 160 troops have been diagnosed with the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during the second quarter of the year, up 15 percent from the first three months of the year, the paper quoted the Berlin-based trauma center of the German army hospital as saying.
Last year, the average number of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder cases reported in a quarter stood at 116.
The number of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders nearly doubled last year, compared to 2008.
German military officials expect the number of traumatized troops to rise as a result of widening combat actions in Afghanistan and the surge in German military deaths.
Some 43 German soldiers have so far died in Afghanistan since late 2001.
The German press reported earlier this year about a serious shortage of psychiatrists to treat the afflicted soldiers.
There was reportedly only one psychiatrist for the 4,500 German soldiers deployed in Afghanistan.