Coalition death toll in Afghanistan so far this year reaches 300

[News_Editor]

Coalition death toll in Afghanistan so far this year reaches 300

2011-07-13 17:37:24 GMT+7 (ICT)

KABUL (BNO NEWS) -- Three more coalition service members have been killed in southern and western Afghanistan, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said on Wednesday, raising the coalition death toll so far this year to more than 300.

The toll is a grim reminder that insurgent groups such as the Taliban are still capable to inflict heavy losses on coalition forces, but the number is lower when compared to last year. A total of 356 coalition service members were killed between January 1st and July 12 last year.

However, the overall coalition death toll also includes a number of casualties from non-hostile incidents such as vehicle accidents, but the vast majority of service members are killed as a result of insurgent attacks. Most die in the southern region of Afghanistan, mainly due to improvised explosive device (IED) attacks.

The latest casualties took place in southern and western Afghanistan on Tuesday and Wednesday. In southern Afghanistan, two ISAF service members were killed as a result of two separate insurgent attacks. A third service member was killed in western Afghanistan as a result of a roadside bomb.

As usual, the multinational force gave no details about the nationalities of those killed or the exact location of the attacks. "It is ISAF policy to defer casualty identification procedures to the relevant national authorities," a brief statement said.

Coalition casualties in Afghanistan have been rising sharply in recent years, with a total coalition death toll of 709 in 2010, making it the deadliest year for international troops since the war began in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

But for now, the coalition death toll this year remains lower than last year. "The decline in coalition fatalities can be attributed to a number of factors, not the least of which is the hard work and sacrifices of coalition forces over the past year to clear and hold former Taliban strongholds, the weaponry we have taken out of the hands of the insurgents, the fact that the Taliban is on its back foot and not able to engage our forces to the degree they have in the past, and the increase in Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and their ability to take the lead in some operations," said ISAF spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Colette Murphy.

Murphy added: "The ANSF is making gains in capability and capacity every day and are suffering its share of losses as they defend Afghanistan from insurgents."

Insurgents have been able to carry out a number of high-profile and deadly attacks so far this year, including the assassination of Afghan President Hamid Karzai's brother on Tuesday. But the majority of insurgent attacks are on a small scale, killing one and sometimes several people.

Nonetheless, especially the Taliban is engaged in a propaganda campaign to influence the Afghan population and in an attempt to gain support and donations from foreign fighters. Taliban spokesmen stand by throughout the day to falsely claim responsibility for any incident that receives media coverage, whether or not the Taliban had any involvement.

One example is the attack on a large Afghan military hospital in Kabul in May. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid immediately claimed responsibility, but his comments did not match the facts. "As many as 51 military doctors and other officials of the NATO and local puppets got killed and dozens more were wounded," Mujahid said. "Both Mujahids (Muslim fighters) have embraced martyrdom with an interval of an hour after fighting bravely in the military section of the hospital before detonating their explosives belts."

"They claim to have killed international trainers," German Army Brigadier General Josef Blotz said about the Taliban claim in May, adding that all the victims were Afghans. "This is a lie - nothing more than another attempt to hide the truth that insurgent attacks almost always harm civilians."

Media reports at the time of the attack had speculated that a second suicide bomber could still be inside the building. Mujahid's statement soon claimed there were two attackers, but officials later said there was only one suicide bomber. It is an indication that the Taliban is using news media reports to put its statements together.

According to ISAF, credible intelligence sources indicate that the Haqqani Network was behind the hospital attack, not the Taliban. Nonetheless, the Taliban claim of responsibility was picked up by all major news agencies around the world, which was probably the Taliban's goal.

But the Taliban does not only claim responsibility for attacks carried out by other insurgent groups, it also claims responsibility for attacks which did not happen. The group publishes dozens of media statements throughout the day, giving details of supposed attacks. But most incidents turn out false.

Blotz said the Taliban does not only make false statements for local propaganda purposes, but also in the hopes that foreign supporters will donate money to help them commit more highly visible attacks. ISAF said such attacks are becoming more difficult due to the Taliban's lack of fiscal funds.

According to the multinational force, the Taliban is in financial hardship because a large number of their drug and weapon caches have been seized or destroyed by Afghan and coalition forces in recent years, degrading a part of the Taliban's financial income.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-07-13