Afghanistan War News Updates -- February 19, 2013

UN: Civilian Deaths Fall In Afghanistan; First Drop In 6 Years -- CNN

(CNN) -- Civilian deaths in Afghanistan dropped 12% in 2012 -- the first time that figure has fallen in six years, a U.N. report said Tuesday.

The report by the U.N. Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) credits the decline to:

-- fewer suicide bombings

-- a decline in aerial attacks

-- less ground fighting between pro-government and militant forces

-- care taken by those pro-government forces to minimize harm to civilians.

Read more ....

More News On Afghanistan

Senior Taliban leader Khan Mohammad killed in Helmand -- Khaama Press
Afghan police kill 25 Taliban militants -- Global Times
Afghans arrest senior Pakistani Taliban -- Miami Herald/AP
Senior Pakistani insurgent arrested in Afghan east: officials -- Reuters
Afghan forces arrest Pakistan Taliban commander -- BBC
Karzai Bans Afghan Forces From Seeking Airstrikes -- New York Times/AP

U.N. Report Shows Fewer Killings of Afghan Civilians, Suggesting Shift in War -- New York Times
Insurgent violence against women, girls in Afghanistan jumps 20% - UN -- RT
Civilian deaths dropped in Afghanistan in 2012 -- Washington Post
Civilian casualties in Afghanistan fall -- BBC
U.N.: Afghan civilian casualties decrease -- UPI
UN finds decrease in Afghan civilian deaths -- Al Jazeera
2,754 civilians killed in Afghanistan in 2012: UN -- China Daily/Xinhua
Women, girls increasingly victims in Afghan war, U.N. says -- Reuters
Taliban targeting Afghan women and government workers, UN report finds -- The Guardian
Killings of government workers rise in Afghanistan: U.N. -- Al Arabiya
Killings of government workers soar in Afghanistan: UN -- Global Post/AFP
UN: Targeted Killings Soar in Afghanistan -- Voice of America
UN: Drones killed more Afghan civilians in 2012 -- AP
UN concerned about rise in drone strikes on Afghanistan and number of civilians killed by them -- Washington Post/AP

Pakistani clerics to boycott peace conference -- Stars and Stripes/AP
Afghan delegation leaves for Brussels to attend NATO summit -- Khaama Press
Russia seeks clarification on NATO role in Afghanistan -- Khaama Press
Tajikistan to assist British withdrawal from Afghanistan -- Times of Central Asia
Post-2014 Afghanistan: Pakistan’s nightmare? -- Madiha Sattar, DAWN
Afghanistan: Troubling Prospects – Analysis -- Eurasia Review