405 foreign troops killed in 2012
01 January, 2013
KABUL: As may as 405 foreign troops and advisors were killed and more than 3252 sustained injuries while fighting Taliban during 2012 in Afghanistan. August proved to be the deadliest month of 2012 for the foreign forces as the NATO-led force lost 52 foreign troops that month. Of the 405 foreign troops killed in 2012, 309 were Americans, 44 British, 12 Turkish, eight French, seven Australians, seven Georgian, six New Zealanders, five Italians, one Albanian and five troops of other NATO member countries. In terms of casualties, 2010 was the deadliest year for the foreign forces as 711 foreign troops were killed that year. Though the foreign forces also suffered casualties in years before 2010 but their casualties graph started rising after 2010 as 566 foreign troops were killed 2011. The United States is on top of the list of casualties as it has lost 2173 troops since their mission in 2001, followed by the Britain with 438 deaths. France and Germany who lost 86 and 53 troops respectively during the Afghan mission announced this year to withdraw forces from Afghanistan. No German soldier or official was killed this year in Afghanistan while France who lost eight soldiers in 2012 pulled out all its combat troops. On December 24, an Iranian origin Afghan female police shot dead her US security advisor in Kabul rising the death toll of foreign forces from 46 insider attacks to 63. Insider attacks dramatically increased this year, compared to last year, as 35 foreign troops were killed in 21 attacks. According to the tally kept by a website, casualties.org, 2447 US troops were also wounded in the first nine months of 2012. However, the death toll of the foreign forces claimed by Taliban in their attacks is far high than the above tally. The toll of casualties of the Afghan National Army also climbed up this year as 1050 ANA troops were killed in hostile attacks this year, compared to 830 deaths in 2011, said General Zahir Azimi, spokesman for the defence ministry. The comparison in casualties of Afghan and foreign forces shows that casualties of Afghan security forces have increased. The rising number of insider attacks are considered to be another headache for the foreign forces in Afghanistan. End.
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