Hmm the original story has alot more facts relevent to this "headline"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5024104.stm
According to MoD figures 2,670 soldiers went "absent without leave" in 2001, with the figure rising to 2,970 in 2002 and falling in 2003 to 2,825. In 2004 it rose to 3,050, falling back again in 2005 to 2,725.
Which means the Iraq war has not significantly altered those numbers since peacetime.