WASHINGTON  January could be the Army's worst month for suicides since record-keeping started in 1980. The service announced Thursday that 24 soldiers may have killed themselves last month.

Seven suicides have been confirmed, the Army said, and 17 are suspected. If all are confirmed, it means that more than twice as many soldiers died by their own hand last month than were killed in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ten soldiers died in combat last month.

The suicides included a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the second suicide at the school since December. There were also two attempted suicides reported at West Point in January.

The announcement comes a week after the Army reported a 25% increase in suicides last year over 2007. With 128 confirmed cases last year and an additional 15 suspected suicides, 2008 set another record: It was the fourth consecutive year of increases in soldier suicides.

Army leaders reacted with alarm to the January figures.

"The trend and trajectory seen in January further heightens the seriousness and urgency that all of us must have in preventing suicides," said Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the vice chief of staff of the Army. Last week, he was put in charge of efforts to curtail the deaths.

The Army announced last week that all soldiers will be trained in coming weeks about how to recognize suicidal behavior and intervene. The Army is also pleading for more mental health specialists.

Officials said they did not know what caused the apparent rise in suicides.

"We have not identified any particular problem," said Lt. Col. Mike Moose, an Army spokesman.

"We lost more soldiers to suicide than to al-Qaeda," said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "If we lost this many soldiers to an enemy weapon … we would demand defensive measures. The DoD (Department of Defense) and VA (Department of Veterans Affairs) must take bold and immediate action."

The veterans group and other organizations have urged the military to require servicemembers to undergo face-to-face screening with mental health specialists.

However, the Pentagon has an ongoing shortage of mental-health caregivers.

Contributing: The Associated Press