NATO: Afghan Militant Attacks Up 11 Percent

June the Highest Level of Fighting Since 2010

by Jason Ditz, July 27, 2012

New statistics released by NATO show a dramatic increase in militant attacks in Afghanistan, putting the figure at an 11 percent increase year over year for the past three months, with June showing the highest levels of violence since summer 2010.

The figures also showed an increase in “enemy-initiated attacks” for every single month, putting NATO’s recent claims of progress in the decade-long occupation into serious doubt.

NATO sought to downplay the significance of the increase, saying that “more precise reporting” of attacks against Afghan police might be responsible for a large portion of the increase by itself, with last year’s attacks apparently going unreported.

Despite this dramatic increase in attacks, so far there has not been an increase in coalition death tolls this year, with the number of NATO troops staying roughly flat over the past several months.

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