Deadliest Month Yet for NATO in Afghanistan

June 2010 is now the most deadly month of the nine-year Afghanistan war, with more than 100 NATO troops killed

U.S. Army Sgt. Conrado Cabezas with C Troop 1-71 CAV walks through a wheat field during a patrol in the village of Gorgan in Dand district, south of Kandahar, Monday, June 28, 2010. (Photo credit: Denis Sinyakov / Reuters)

By Jonathan Adams

June 29, 2010

More than 100 foreign troops fighting in Afghanistan have already died in June, making it the deadliest month to date in the nine-year war, according to independent monitor icasualties.org. Sources differ on whether the increase in deaths is because of new Taliban techniques or recent military offensives in militant strongholds.

The high death count comes amid growing debate in the US on the prosecution of the war, in particular over strict rules of engagement for US soldiers. The rules have been credited with reducing civilian deaths, but some have criticized them for exposing troops to more danger. …

By contrast to the 101 NATO forces killed in June 2010, only 51 troops died last month [May], and only 37 died in the same period one year ago, according to icasualties.org. The site puts the 2010 death toll at 320, compared with 520 in all of 2009. (See a chart of Afghanistan casualties.) …

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — July 5, 2009

An Iraqi Army soldier stands guard in central Baghdad, Iraq, on Sunday, July 5, 2009. Many Iraqis were skeptical that much would change after the previous week’s pullback of U.S. combat troops from Baghdad and other cities. (Photo credit: Hadi Mizban / AP)

Deadly June for Iraqis

One-year retrospective: One year ago today, I reported that Iraqis were skeptical that much would change for the better after the June 30, 2009 withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from urban areas; that June 2009 was the deadliest month of the year to date in Iraq; that two U.S. troops were killed in an attack on a U.S. base in Afghanistan; that a U.S. soldier was reported missing, believed captured, in Afghanistan; and that four U.S. troops were killed in a roadside bombing in Kunduz province, northern Afghanistan.