(Parwiz/Reuters)This year is well on its way to be the deadliest for Afghan civilians since the United Nations mission there began documenting those numbers seven years ago. An incident Thursday is a particularly tragic example of how more and more of those deaths are occurring: at the hands of Afghan government forces and their NATO-led coalition allies. On the other hand, 623 civilian deaths are attributable to “pro-government” forces this year, up by 42 percent from last year. [2 U.S. troops killed fighting Taliban in Afghanistan; civilians hit by airstrike]The civilian death toll provided by the United Nations is unlikely to be comprehensive. Civilian casualties are a major source of tension between the Afghan government and its NATO allies.

Source: Washington Post November 03, 2016 16:05 UTC