13 Afghan Police Killed as Taliban Attacks Soar

US, Afghan Officials Seek to Keep Truth of Violence Spike a Secret

Another day means another massive attack in Afghanistan, with 13 members of the Afghan Local Police (ALP) killed today in an attack on a checkpoint in the Ghazni Province, in the nation’s east.

The ALP were “asleep” when the Taliban attacked their checkpoint, according to the District Governor of Andar, and were all killed before they could mount any sort of counterattack.

Attacks have been readily seen to be on the rise in recent weeks, but the scope of the matter has become a closely guarded secret, with both the Pentagon and the Afghan Defense Ministry insisting they will not make public any data about the number of attacks taking place.

Private estimates but the number of attacks in the first quarter of 2013 about 47 percent higher than in 2012, and the Taliban still hasn’t announced their “spring offensive,” when violence usually skyrockets.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.