At least 80 pro-government forces and 47 civilians were killed in Afghanistan during the past week.
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.
At least 80 pro-government forces and 47 civilians were killed in Afghanistan during the past week. While American and Taliban negotiators met for their sixth session of peace talks in Doha, there was no sign that the Taliban were letting up on the tempo of violence. Nor did they seem to be adhering to their pledge to avoid civilian casualties during the holy month of Ramadan, which began Monday, although there were also civilian deaths blamed on C. I. A.-backed militia groups.
[Read the Afghan War Casualty Report from previous weeks.]
May 9 Badakhshan Province: two soldiers killed
In the Safid Yalor area of Raghistan District, the Taliban ambushed the Third Border Battalion commander for Khwahan District, killing him and one of his bodyguards and wounding three others.
May 9 Logar Province: four local police officers killed
The Taliban attacked local police checkpoints in the Puli-Matani area of Pul Alam, the provincial capital, killing four and wounding three others.
May 9 Kunduz Province: one local police officer killed
The Taliban attacked Dasht-e-Archi District from four directions, killing a local police officer and wounding three others. The insurgents then overran the outpost.
May 9 Nangarhar Province: four civilians killed
A C. I. A.-backed Afghan strike force launched an operation in Chaparhar District, killing four civilians and wounding two others. Among those killed were a father and his son, both teachers.
May 9 Balkh Province: five police officers killed
A Taliban Red Unit attacked a police outpost in Kholm District, killing five police officers and wounding five others. The fighting went on for an hour until government reinforcements arrived and pushed the Taliban back.
May 8 Kabul Province: nine killed in aid group attack
Taliban militants attacked the compound of Counterpart International, an American-run contractor, in the Afghan capital, killing at least nine people and wounding 20 others. Most of the victims were civilians, but one police commando died too. Among the dead were three employees of the American aid group CARE, which has offices nearby.
May 8 Oruzgan Province: six civilians killed
A home in the Torachina area of Tarinkot District was hit by airstrikes from a foreign aircraft during a joint operation, killing six members of the same family.
