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Nearly 400 Militants Gunned Down Recently: US
 [Quqnoos] US forces claim to have killed and detained more than 400 militants in recent months as insurgency has reached a record-level in Afghanistan Many of the militants removed include Taliban and Haqqani network senior leaders, known for spearheading the planning and undertaking of deadly attacks, US military says in a statement.Afghan and international forces have killed and captured more than 400 militants throughout the eastern Afghan region since 1 June, 2009, the statement adds. Meanwhile, at least 229 international forces -- more than half of them Americans -- stationed in Afghanistan have been killed in hostile incidents in the same period, according to icasualties. The statement names a number of 'prominent' militant leaders who have been arrested or gunned down in military operations, mostly carried out in eastern provinces. "We stepped up our efforts throughout the region ... bringing more than 400 of the worst criminals by either killing or capturing them," said a US forces spokesman, Lt Col Clarence Counts. A number of foreign fighters and bomb makers have been also killed in multiple military offensives, the statement further notes. "The elimination of these terrorists represents a significant step forward in protecting the Afghan people, and a definitive blow to the enemy's networks and capabilities, especially at such a critical time," said Counts. A UN report released in early August showed a 24 percent rise in the level of civilian deaths during the first half of 2009, compared with the same period last year. According to the UN, at least 1,013 civilians were killed between 1 January and 31 June this year compared with 818 for the same period in 2008 - an increase of 24 percent. The United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) also pointed to stepped-up military operations by the US and NATO forces in Afghanistan. Posted by: Fred 2009-09-18 |
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