The usually conservative figures on civilian deaths coming from the Afghan government showed 173 civilians died in the most recent month, a 33% rise year over year from 2009.

The figure also included 380 civilians who were wounded. Officials said the largest portion of the civilian casualties were caused by roadside bombs.

Previous reports had roadside bombings in the first quarter of 2010 at least doubling, and killing twice as many troops as the year over year figure from 2009. It seems that in addition to troops the IEDs have been killing civilians at an alarming rate.

Another significant portion of those deaths, though one not explicitly included in the Afghan government’s news conference, was civilians killed by NATO troops. Though there were not any of the major air strikes in the past month, several high profile shootings have left NATO’s reputation in the nation in serious disrepair.

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