UN: Violence in Afghanistan Jumps About 40 Percent
September 28, 2011
VOA News
The United Nations says violent incidents in Afghanistan have increased sharply this year.
In a report released Wednesday, the U.N. said an average of 2,108 incidents took place in the first eight months this year, about a 40 percent increase from the same period last year.
The report also said insurgents are conducting more complex suicide operations, noting that three such attacks have been carried out each month this year, a 50 percent rise from the same period in 2011.
In violence Wednesday, suspected Taliban militants killed eight Afghan policemen at a checkpoint in Helmand province in the country's south.
Officials say three other policemen were wounded. Authorities are investigating whether a police officer conspired in the attack.
In other news, Afghan and coalition troops seized drugs worth more than $350 million in Helmand province on Monday. A coalition statement said the seizure reportedly is the largest ever made by combined forces in Afghanistan. Three narcotics laboratories were destroyed in the raid.
In other violence, a New Zealand special forces soldier was shot and killed during a gunbattle Wednesday with insurgents near the capital, Kabul. The soldier is the second member of the country's special forces unit to be killed in Afghanistan this year.
Violence in Afghanistan is at its worst since the U.S.-led invasion in late 2001.
This comes as international forces begin pulling out of Afghanistan and transferring security responsibility to their Afghan counterparts. All foreign combat troops are set to leave the country by the end of 2014.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
