July deadliest for Afghan civilians

The number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan has seen a dramatic increase in July, with as many as 270 civilians and about 560 injured in terrorist attacks, an Afghan official says.

Citing a 29 per cent and a 5 per cent increase in the number of civilian casualties and attacks respectively, in the war-torn country of Afghanistan, the country’s Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary told a news conference on Sunday that a total of 765 terrorist attacks were mounted in July, a Press TV correspondent reported.

Bashary said the capital city of Kabul, the south and southwest of Afghanistan were the epicentres of the attacks.

According to the Afghan official, 263 people were taken into custody on suspicion of involvement in terrorist activities, while some 673 Taliban militants had been killed in July.

He also noted that some 778 mines had also been discovered and confiscated by the Afghan security forces.

Bashary also added that the deadliest incident occurred on 23 July in the southern Helmand province, where a round of mortar attacks claimed the lives of 52 civilians in a residential area.

The latest tally shows July has shaped up as the bloodiest month for foreign troops in Afghanistan, with 89 foreign soldiers having been killed over the past month.

The tally is based on military reports gathered by news agencies and websites tracking coalition casualties during both Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

So far this year, over 400 foreign soldiers have been killed in the war-stricken country, with nearly 2,000 US-led troops having been killed since the 2001 invasion.