180 Afghan civilians killed within month: official

Source:Xinhua Published: 2013-7-1 16:23:25

As many as 180 civilians had been killed within one month in militancy-hit Afghanistan, said the country's Interior Ministry spokesman on Monday.

"Up to 180 civilians had been killed in month Jawza in Afghan calendar (May 22-June 21) in attacks and bombings across the country," spokesman Seddeq Seddeqi told reporters in a joint press briefing.

Without disclosing figures, he said several civilians were also wounded in security incidents.

He said 299 Afghan National Police (ANP) personnel have been killed and 618 ANP officers wounded during operations, armed attacks and bombings over the same period of time.

"A total of 753 enemies of Afghanistan had been killed, 357 enemies wounded and 305 others detained during 378 military operations across the country at the same month," Seddeqi said.

Afghan officials use the term "enemies of Afghanistan" for referring to Taliban insurgents.

The release of the latest figures came weeks after Afghan forces took the lead for security across the country from NATO-led coalition forces.

The Taliban-led insurgency has been rampant since the militant group launched annual rebel offensive in April against Afghan government forces and about 100,000 NATO-led troops stationed in the country.

The insurgency and conflicts claimed the lives of more than 2, 800 Afghan security forces and 400 foreign soldiers while leaving 2,754 civilians dead last year in the war-hit central Asian state.








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