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Afghan Deaths Mount in Western Strikes

US, NATO kill more civilians than Taliban does

By Jonas Oransky, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 6, 2007 1:54 PM CDT

(Newser) – Of the 500 Afghan civilians killed in the first half of 2007, more were victims of US and NATO strikes than of Taliban insurgents, the LA Times reports. Among the main causes of collateral human damage are Western air attacks on walled compounds and "jittery troops" shooting civilians in the wake of car bombings.

US and NATO officials say its morally dishonest to compare accidental and deliberate casualties, and point to militants using civilians as human shields. But while the majority of Afghans continue to support the foreign troop presence, disillusionment is growing both with the occupation and with the Karzai government.

The police and investigators inspect the sites of an explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan on June 17, 2007. U.S. and NATO commanders say they have blunted the Taliban's threatened spring offensive, killing... (Associated Press)

Investigators examine a foreign security contractor's vehicle, left, after a suicide car bomb attack on the out skirts of Kabul, Afghanistan on Thursday, June 28, 2007. A suicide car bomber hit a convoy... (Associated Press)

The bullet holes are seen on the back of an Afghan police truck which was shot by U.S. forces in Khogyani district of Nangarhar province, east of Kabul, Afghanistan on Tuesday, June 12, 2007. Afghan police... (Associated Press)

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Afghan Deaths Mount in Western Strikes

US, NATO kill more civilians than Taliban does

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