Afghanistan War News Updates -- August 11, 2010

Number Of Civilians Killed This Year In Afghanistan Soars By A Third To More Than 1,200 -- The Daily Mail

The number of civilians killed or wounded in Afghanistan rose by 31 per cent in the first six months of the year.

Despite massive efforts by Nato-led forces to reduce casualties, more than 1,200 civilians were killed and another 1,997 injured, the United Nations said - the worst figures since the Taliban was driven out following the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

The vast majority of deaths and injuries, some 76 per cent, were caused by the Taliban and other insurgent groups, an increase from 53 per cent in 2009, the UN report disclosed.

Read more ....

More News On Afghanistan

Afghan civilian deaths up 30 per cent as Taliban escalates assassination campaign -- The Telegraph
Afghan civilians dying at a faster pace, U.N. says -- L.A. Times
UN: Civilian Casualties Rising Sharply in Afghanistan -- Voice of America
U.N. Reports Rising Afghan Casualties -- New York Times
UN fears as 176 kids killed this year alone in Taliban bombs -- Mirror
U.N. report links spike in Afghan civilian casualties to insurgent attacks -- Washington Post
Civilian death toll rises by a third in Afghanistan -- The Independent

NATO Says Roadside Bomb Kills 3 Afghan Civilians -- Radio Free Europe
Roadside bomb kills 3 civilians in Afghanistan -- CNN
Kabul attack kills two as Afghan civilian casualites rise -- AFP
Fatal Attack on Guesthouse in Afghan Capital -- New York Times

Bodies of 4 American medical workers headed home -- AP
White House condemns 'senseless' attack on aid workers -- AFP
Devastated Christian aid group pledges to continue work in Afghanistan -- Washington Post

German Offensive Aims to Repair Security, Reputation -- Wall Street Journal
Assignment Kandahar: The execution of children, and problems at shuras -- National Post
Video From an Embed With the Taliban -- New York Times
The Battle For Afghan Hearts And Minds -- NPR
New law prevents mailing cigarettes to U.S. troops overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan -- New York Daily News
Forget the Drones: Executive Plane Now an Afghanistan Flying Spy -- The Danger Room

Keeping Promises -- Peter Bergen, The New Republic
Counter-Terorism vs. Counter-Insurgency in Afghanistan -- Elise Cooper, American Thinker
The Taliban Must Be Defeated, Not Accommodated -- Max Boot, The Commentary
The Struggle for Afghanistan: Counting Progress in Small Steps -- David Wood, Politics Daily
The killing fields of Afghanistan -- The Guardian editorial