Afghanistan Times
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AT-KABUL: Ministry of Defense (MoD) has rejected the recent report of Pentagon, headquarters of the United States Defense Department, on increase in Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) casualties.
The deputy spokesman to the ministry, Dawlat Waziri, told media that the recent report of Pentagon shows 59 percent increase in Afghan security forces causalities, but in the real it has increased just three percent.
Pentagon in its report, “Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan” to the US Congress, said that ANSF suffered staggering 59 percent increase in casualties in the past six months as compared to the same period of 2014.
“The increase in ANSF casualty figures was highest during the first few months of 2015, reaching approximately 80 percent higher than the same period last year,” Pentagon said, adding that the Afghan security forces casualties would increase in the coming months.
According to the report covering efforts to enhance security and stability in Afghanistan from December 1, 2014, through May 31, 2015, the assumption of greater security responsibilities, withdrawal of coalition forces, and an “aggressive pursuit of the insurgency” have all contributed to the surge in casualty rates.
Most of the casualties are suffered by the Afghan National Police (ANP) and Afghan Local Police (ALP).
The report also highlights casualties suffered by the US forces in Afghanistan. “During Operation Enduring Freedom, from October 2001 through December 2014, 2,215 U.S. military personnel died in Afghanistan; 20,027 U.S. military personnel were wounded-in-action, and 1,832 were killed-in-action,” the report underlines.
Pentagon said that the next report will include an analysis of efforts to enhance security and stability in Afghanistan from June 1, 2015, through November 30, 2015.
