在线国产一区二区_成人黄色片在线观看_国产成人免费_日韩精品免费在线视频_亚洲精品美女久久_欧美一级免费在线观看

WORLD> Asia-Pacific
July is deadliest for US-led forces in Afghanistan
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-07-16 11:49

July is deadliest for US-led forces in Afghanistan
A US Chinook helicopter overflies Kabul, Afghanistan on Wednesday, July 15, 2009. [Agencies]

KABUL: July is shaping up as the deadliest month of the Afghan war for US-led international forces, with the number killed already matching the highest full-month toll of the nearly eight-year conflict, according to figures compiled by The Associated Press.

As of Wednesday, at least 46 international troops, including 24 Americans, had been killed in Afghanistan this month, according to statements by the US military and the NATO command. That matches the tolls for the two previous deadliest months _ June and August of 2008.

The rate of deaths in July _ about three a day _ is approaching some of the highest levels of the Iraq war.

The latest reported deaths occurred Tuesday. They include an American soldier who was killed by a roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan and two Turks, including a colonel, who died in a traffic accident in the north of the country.

In addition, six Ukrainian civilians and a 6-year-old Afghan were killed Tuesday when an Mi-6 transport helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan. The helicopter's owners in the former Soviet republic of Moldova said the helicopter was shot down, and the Taliban claimed responsibility.

In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell acknowledged that the US has lost troops "at an alarming rate this month."

He told reporters that July has been "an extraordinarily difficult month for all of us who are so heavily invested in trying to better the situation in Afghanistan."

US commanders have been expecting higher casualties since President Barack Obama ordered 21,000 additional US troops to Afghanistan this year to curb a resurgent Taliban that threatens not only the US-backed Kabul government but also Afghanistan's nuclear-armed neighbor, Pakistan.

Related readings:
July is deadliest for US-led forces in Afghanistan 2 NATO soldiers killed in S Afghanistan
July is deadliest for US-led forces in Afghanistan 2 US Marines die in S. Afghanistan bomb blasts
July is deadliest for US-led forces in Afghanistan Explosions kill dozens in Afghanistan, Iraq
July is deadliest for US-led forces in Afghanistan Blast in central Afghanistan kills 25

There are about 57,000 US troops currently in Afghanistan, and the number is expected to rise to at least 68,000 by the end of 2009.

Obama's decision has effectively shifted the focus on the global war against Islamic extremism from Iraq, where the United States still maintains about 130,000 troops. Only two US service members have died in Iraq this month _ both from non-hostile causes, according to the Pentagon.

With the increase in troops heading for Afghanistan, the US has stepped up the tempo of combat operations. About 4,000 US Marines this month launched their biggest offensive since 2001 to break the Taliban stranglehold on the southern province of Helmand, the center of the country's opium poppy cultivation and a major insurgent smuggling route from Pakistan.

British forces, meanwhile, have been locked in fierce combat with Taliban fighters in another part of Helmand. Britain's 9,000-strong military force has lost 15 soldiers this month _ including eight in a 24-hour period. Those deaths have prompted national debate in Britain over whether the Afghan conflict is winnable.

For their part, the Taliban have increased their attacks, including deadly roadside or suicide bombings that rose by 25 percent in the first four months of 2009 over the same period last year. The US command expects bombings to rise 50 percent this year to 5,700 _ up from 3,800 last year.

Other deaths this month among international forces include four Canadian soldiers and one Italian paratrooper.

Obama said Tuesday that he hopes military operations in Afghanistan can move to a different phase after the Afghan presidential election set for August 20. Obama said he is looking for an exit strategy in which the Afghan army, police, courts and government take more responsibility for the country's security.

During last year's election campaign, Obama accused President George W. Bush of diverting US resources from the war in Afghanistan, where al-Qaida's leadership planned the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington, to what he termed an unnecessary war to oust Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

主站蜘蛛池模板: 欧美日韩毛片 | 国产精品一区二区三区四区 | 精品视频久久 | 亚洲在线一区 | 日本黄色中文字幕 | 国产精品免费人成网站酒店 | 黄色片在线 | 亚洲69视频| 国产一区在线免费观看 | 欧美在线激情 | 亚洲av毛片成人精品 | 久久久久久久久国产精品 | 日韩精品观看 | 好色影院| 亚洲精品一区二区三区精华液 | 亚洲一区二区免费视频 | 人人综合网 | 神马影院午夜伦理片 | 欧美日日夜夜 | 老司机深夜福利视频 | 黄免费视频 | 成人毛片100免费观看 | 一级片欧美 | 国产一区二区三区在线 | 亚洲欧美天堂 | 国产高清网站 | 欧美一区免费 | 欧美一区二区精品 | 国产欧美一区二区精品性色超碰 | 天天操夜夜摸 | 免费观看一级毛片 | 欧美精品成人一区二区在线观看 | 成人免费看片在线观看 | 国产九九热 | 伊人久久网站 | 日韩美女一区 | 欧美日韩国产中文 | 欧美视频一二三区 | 成人午夜网站 | 久久久久久久久久国产精品 | 最新超碰 |