UN, NATO At Odds Over Afghan Security

Posted September 29th, 2011 at 9:00 pm (UTC-5)
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NATO-led forces fighting in Afghanistan have reported a downward trend in insurgent attacks that appears to contradict a U.N. report released a day earlier that says the country has become significantly more insecure in 2011.

The International Security Assistance Force said Thursday the number of what it called “security incidents” recorded in the first eight months of this year had decreased two percent from the same period a year ago.

On Wednesday, the U.N. released a report stating the average monthly number of violent incidents from January to August stood at 2,108 – a nearly 40 percent increase over the same period last year.

The coalition said its definition of “security incidents” only covers attacks initiated by insurgents and does not include other forms of violence such as assassinations, weapons seizures or its own offensives against militants. The U.N. report, by contrast, counted many such events.

ISAF says its data includes an estimated 25-percent fewer incidents than those recorded by the United Nations Officials from both organizations denied there is a serious conflict between their accounts.

Earlier Thursday, a roadside bomb killed at least three people in western Afghanistan. The attack occurred when a remote-controlled bomb detonated near a police vehicle travelling on an airport road in Herat province.

Authorities say a female police officer and two civilians were killed in the attack. At least 10 other people were wounded in the blast, including four policewomen.