Author Topic: July Deadliest Month for US in Afghanistan  (Read 3336 times)

nestopwar

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July Deadliest Month for US in Afghanistan
« on: July 31, 2010, 08:38:46 AM »
July Deadliest Month for US in Afghanistan
July 30, 2010 - 6:30 PM | by: Pat Summers
Six more American troops were killed in four separate attacks in Afghanistan’s volatile south on Friday – raising the total number of casualties to sixty-six and making July the deadliest month ever for U.S. forces in the nearly nine year old war.

The Defense Department argued that with more U.S. boots on the ground, and more operations aimed at eliminating a resurgent Taliban, the number is not a shock. “[It’s] not unexpected since we have significantly added to the number of troops we have there,” one DOD official tells Fox News. “We have also added significant pressure on the Taliban, and we are going into areas we have never been before in Afghanistan,” the official added.

Following months of deliberations and top-level meetings with advisers, President Obama ordered an additional thirty thousand forces to Afghanistan in December – and U.S. and NATO commanders warned that an influx of troops and a push against insurgents, particularly in the Taliban heartland of southern Afghanistan, would likely trigger a spike in fatalities.

Afghan casualties are on the rise as well – in Kabul on Friday a crowd of hundreds rioted after a sport utility vehicle carrying American embassy contractors crashed into a car – killing at least four Afghans. The crowd chanted, “Death to America” and “Death to foreigners.”

Previously, June had been the deadliest month for the US with 60 casualties.

Meanwhile British and Afghan forces launched a new offensive Friday in the Sayedebad area of Helmand province.

Operation “Tor Shezada” or “Black Prince” will push insurgents further from the populated areas to the south of Nad-e-Ali.



Read more: http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/07/30/july-deadliest-month-for-us-in-afghanistan/#ixzz0vF9WQA00