Afghan War Casualty Report: March 22-28

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The following report compiles all significant security incidents confirmed by New York Times reporters throughout Afghanistan from the past seven days. It is necessarily incomplete as many local officials refuse to confirm casualty information. The report includes government claims of insurgent casualty figures, but in most cases these cannot be independently verified by The Times. Similarly, the reports do not include Taliban claims for their attacks on the government unless they can be verified. Both sides routinely inflate casualty totals for their opponents.

More than 100 security forces and 28 civilians were killed in the past week, including two American service members who were killed in Kunduz Province during a joint operation. The Afghan military suffered its worst loss of the year in southern Afghanistan, where an estimated 65 security forces were killed in coordinated attacks by the Taliban late Friday night and early Saturday in Helmand Province. “The government is trying to keep it secret, but this is what has happened in just a single attack in Sangin District,” a local official told The Times. Few details of the assault have been made available.

[Read the Afghan War Casualty Report from previous weeks.]

March 28 Samangan Province: seven pro-government militia members killed

The Taliban attacked the village of Tikhonak in Aybak City, the provincial capital, killing seven pro-government militia members and wounding 11 others. Local authorities claimed that four Taliban fighters were also killed in the clashes and that their attack was pushed back by security forces.

March 28 Zabul Province: seven police officers killed

The Taliban attacked police outposts in the Seuri area of Shinky District, killing seven police officers and wounding eight others. Three outposts were captured by the Taliban in several hours of battle.

March 27 Balkh Province: one police officer killed

The Taliban attacked a security outpost in the Kampirak village of Nahr-e-Shahi District, killing one police officer and wounding two others in an hour of fighting.

March 27 Balkh Province: five soldiers killed

The Taliban attacked a security outpost called Timorak in Charbolak District, where fighting continued for more than five hours. Five soldiers were killed and seven others were wounded in the clashes. Reinforcements arrived after the fighting had ended, and they were able to prevent the Taliban from capturing the outpost.

March 26 Takhar Province: one civilian killed

One woman was killed and four civilians were wounded in fighting between two local militia commanders in Kalafgan District.

March 25 Balkh Province: one police officer killed

The Taliban attacked a security outpost in the village of Kata Khil in Balkh District, killing one police officer and wounding another. The Taliban were pushed back from the area.

March 24 Herat Province: two children killed

A mortar fired by the Afghan army in the Aziz Abad area of Zawal District hit a house, killing two children. Their father was also wounded in the attack. Fighting between security forces and the Taliban was underway in the area when the mortar struck. The government sent a delegation to investigate the incident.

March 24 Helmand Province: five police officers killed

The Taliban attacked police outposts in the Makidasht area of Nadali District, killing five police officers and wounding seven others. Local authorities claimed that the Taliban also suffered casualties in the clashes.

March 24 Faryab Province: one police officer killed

Mir Hamza, the police chief of Shirin Tagab District, was shot and wounded in the district center by a Taliban member who was wearing a burqa. Hamza later died of his wounds because the district center was surrounded by Taliban fighters and the government did not send a medevac. Another police officer was also wounded in the assault. The attacker who shot Hamza was killed by police.

March 23 Kunduz Province: 14 civilians and four soldiers killed

After the second firefight in the past 10 days between American soldiers and their Afghan allies, at least 14 civilians, most of them women and children, were killed in an airstrike in Gul Tepa District. At least four Afghan soldiers were also killed.

March 23 Helmand Province: four people killed

Two bombs exploded during Farmer’s Day celebrations in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital. Explosives were placed in agricultural products and went off when the provincial governor and other high-ranking officials were visiting agriculture vendors. Four people were killed, including two government officials, and more than 30 people were wounded by the explosions. Taliban claimed responsibility for explosions.

March 23 Kandahar Province: a former member of Afghan parliament killed

Obaidullah Barikzai, a former member of Afghan parliament, was shot and killed in Kandahar City by unknown armed men on a motorcycle.

March 23 Nangarhar Province: five civilians killed

Five civilians were killed and three others were wounded in a military operation by an Afghan strike force that is trained and overseen by the C.I.A. The operation was carried out in the Gardi Kas area of Behsod District. Four of those killed are members of the same family.

March 23 Helmand Province: 65 security forces killed

The Taliban attacked security outposts in Majeed Chowk and Mobile Tower areas of Sangin District, killing 65 members of the security forces, including 48 soldiers, 10 pro-government militias and seven police officers, with another 43 wounded, according to a local official.

March 22 Kunduz Province: two American soldiers killed

American service members Specialist Joseph P. Collette, 29, and Sgt. First Class Will D. Lindsay, 33, were killed during a joint operation with Afghan forces in Gul Tepa District. Four Afghan commandos were also killed during the operation. A spokeswoman for the American-led NATO mission in Afghanistan confirmed the two American deaths in a brief statement, but it did not release any details of the attack. “The incident is under investigation and we have no additional information to provide,” said the spokeswoman.

March 22 Kandahar Province: one civilian killed

A civilian vehicle hit a roadside bomb in the village of Chinar in Shawalikot District, killing one civilian and wounding four others including women and children.


Reporting was contributed by the following New York Times reporters: Najim Rahim from Mazar-e-Sharif, Mohammad Saber from Herat, Taimoor Shah from Kandahar and Zabihullah Ghazi from Jalalabad.

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Source : Nytimes