KABUL, Jan 2 : American military fatalities in Afghanistan doubled in 2009 compared with the previous year, and U.S. officials and analysts acknowledge that the new year is likely to prove even more lethal.
The planned U.S. troop buildup and ever-deadlier tactics adopted by the Taliban and other insurgent groups are expected to result in at least a temporary surge in deaths and injuries among American troops. Nearly 70,000 are currently serving here and an additional 30,000 are to arrive in this year.
Heading into a ninth year of warfare in Afghanistan, military casualties settled into near-lock-step with the passing of each day -- a firefight here, a suicide bombing there. The most violent parts of the country -- the south, the east -- remained so, but some previously quiet corners also descended into carnage.
In 2008, 155 U.S. service members died in Afghanistan. As 2009 ended, the year's tally stood at 318. That tally did not include seven CIA personnel who were killed in an audacious insurgent strike Wednesday on their base in eastern Afghanistan. INP
The planned U.S. troop buildup and ever-deadlier tactics adopted by the Taliban and other insurgent groups are expected to result in at least a temporary surge in deaths and injuries among American troops. Nearly 70,000 are currently serving here and an additional 30,000 are to arrive in this year.
Heading into a ninth year of warfare in Afghanistan, military casualties settled into near-lock-step with the passing of each day -- a firefight here, a suicide bombing there. The most violent parts of the country -- the south, the east -- remained so, but some previously quiet corners also descended into carnage.
In 2008, 155 U.S. service members died in Afghanistan. As 2009 ended, the year's tally stood at 318. That tally did not include seven CIA personnel who were killed in an audacious insurgent strike Wednesday on their base in eastern Afghanistan. INP
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