Afghanistan War News Updates -- July 30, 2012

U.S. Marines and Afghan soldiers patrol in Sangin in Afghanistan's Helmand province, July 11, 2012. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Sean Searfus

Afghan Security Forces Dying At Five Times Rate Of Nato Soldiers -- The Telegraph

Afghan security forces are dying at five times the rate of Nato soldiers as Taliban insurgents step up attacks ahead of the withdrawal of foreign troops in 2014, the latest figures show.

A total of 853 Afghan soldiers and police were killed in the past four months, government figures show, compared with 165 Nato troops, according to a tally kept by the website icasualties.org.

President Hamid Karzai warned in May that the Afghan death toll would increase as the US-led troops start withdrawing and hand increasing responsibility for security to Afghan forces.

Both NATO'S International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Afghanistan's interior ministry have noted a surge in attacks in recent months since the start of the Taliban's annual summer offensive.

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More News On Afghanistan

ISAF Joint Command morning operational update, July 30 -- ISAF
War in Afghanistan News - 30 July 2012 -- War On Terror News
Afghanistan War: 2 NATO Troops Killed -- Huffington Post
About 40 Taliban Militants Killed in Afghanistan -- RIA Novosti
U.S. Says Afghans Abandoned Police Bases -- Wall Street Journal
Unexploded ordnance in Afghanistan poses hidden threat -- Baltimore Sun
Afghan Truckers a Forgotten Front in a War Growing Deadlier by the Day -- New York Times/Reuters
NATO trucks suspended for fifth day at Pakistan crossing -- NDTV/AFP
Allies Rebuke Pakistan on Cross-Border Attacks -- New York Times
More than 250 missiles fired from Pakistan in Kunar province -- RAWA News
U.S. construction projects in Afghanistan challenged by inspector general’s report -- Washington Post
U.S. Fund to Rebuild Afghanistan Is Criticized -- New York Times
Rampant waste plagues US efforts to rebuild Afghanistan – report -- RT
Report criticizes Afghanistan reconstruction efforts -- Foreign Policy
US aid projects in Afghanistan 'may fall into disuse after handover to Kabul' -- The Telegraph
Taking tea with Afghanistan's most fearsome warlord, General Abdul Rashid Dostum -- The Telegraph
Taliban their own worst enemy -- Mina Habib, The Australian
Worldview: Best time for talks with the Taliban is now -- Trudy Rubin, Philly.com
Counting the Dead & Cannonfodder -- Joshua Foust, Registan