U.S. Casualties Hit 5-Year Low In Afghanistan

U.S. Army Sgt. Justin Southwick, center right, gives a convoy mission brief to Farah team troops before departing Forward Operating Base Farah for a meeting with the director of agriculture, irrigation and livestock in Farah City, Afghanistan, June 25, 2013. Southwick is assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Farah. U.S. Army photo by Command Sgt. Maj. Concordio Borja Jr.

U.S. Casualties Hit 5-Year Low In Afghanistan As Troops’ Role Turns To Advising -- McClatchy News

KABUL, Afghanistan — The shift to Afghan security forces leading in combat and the ongoing reduction of U.S. troops here have driven American casualties during the first half of 2013 to the lowest level in five years.

"Afghan National Security Forces are primarily the units in contact with enemy forces, rather than ISAF personnel," Lt. Tamarac Dyer, a spokeswoman for the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) wrote in an emailed response to questions about casualties.

In the first six months of the year, 72 American troops were killed in Afghanistan, according to icasualties.org, a web site that tracks casualties. The last year when casualties were that low for the same period was 2008. Then, 66 Americans died in between January and June, and 155 were killed in the full year. The worst year for U.S. casualties was 2010, when 499 Americans died. All told, more than 2,200 U.S. troops have been killed since the war began in 2001.

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My Comment: U.S. casualties may be hitting a 5-year low in Afghanistan .... but this is small comfort to those who lost loved ones this year.