ISAF Public Affairs Office
2013-05-CA-08
Facts Disprove Insurgents' Claim of Avoiding Civilian Casualties

KABUL, Afghanistan (May 25, 2013) - The suicide attack yesterday in Kabul, and the bombing May 20 in Baghlan Province that killed Provincial Council Head Rasul Khan Mohsini and at least eight innocent civilian bystanders, are among the latest insurgent attacks whose primary victims are civilians, according to facts maintained by ISAF.

For the period Jan. 1 through May 20, ISAF figures show that the insurgents were responsible for killing or injuring almost 1,500 Afghan civilians.  Improvised explosive devices, more commonly known as IEDs, are the primary killer of Afghan civilians. They remain a central tactic of the insurgents.

"The insurgents and their leadership are telling lies when they say they are avoiding civilian casualties," said Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, the ISAF commander. "The Taliban in their spring offensive announcement made that point again, in a cynical attempt to fool the Afghan people, but the fact of what's happening on the ground is a completely different situation. The Taliban are directly responsible for the vast majority of civilians being killed."

Since the beginning of 2013, the insurgents have caused some 86% of the civilian casualties. According to a 2012 report by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, the insurgents were responsible for 81% of the civilian deaths last year. This same report acknowledged ISAF's effective efforts to reduce civilian casualties resulting from its military operations.