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    September 28, 2011

UN: Violence in Afghanistan Jumps About 40 Percent

   VOA News
   Afghan police fight suicide attackers who took over a guesthouse and
   killed four Afghan security guards in Kunduz province, Afghanistan,
   August 2, 2011.
   Photo: Reuters
   Afghan police fight suicide attackers who took over a guesthouse and
   killed four Afghan security guards in Kunduz province, Afghanistan,
   August 2, 2011.

   The United Nations says violent incidents in Afghanistan have increased
   sharply this year.
   In a report released Wednesday, the U.N. said a monthly average of
   2,108 incidents took place in the first eight months this year, about a
   40 percent increase from the same period last year.
   The report also said insurgents are conducting more complex suicide
   operations, noting that three such attacks have been carried out each
   month this year, a 50 percent rise from the same period in 2010.
   In violence Wednesday, suspected Taliban militants killed eight Afghan
   policemen at a checkpoint in Helmand province in the country's south.
   Officials say three other policemen were wounded. Authorities are
   investigating whether a police officer conspired in the attack.
   In other news, Afghan and coalition troops seized drugs worth more than
   $350 million in Helmand province on Monday. A coalition statement said
   the seizure reportedly is the largest ever made by combined forces in
   Afghanistan. Three narcotics laboratories were destroyed in the raid.
   In other violence, a New Zealand special forces soldier was shot and
   killed during a gunbattle Wednesday with insurgents near the capital,
   Kabul. The soldier is the second member of the country's special forces
   unit to be killed in Afghanistan this year.
   Violence in Afghanistan is at its worst since the U.S.-led invasion in
   late 2001.
   This comes as international forces begin pulling out of Afghanistan and
   transferring security responsibility to their Afghan counterparts. All
   foreign combat troops are set to leave the country by the end of 2014.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

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