Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
U.S. troops killed in deadliest month of Afghan war
Fri Jul 31, 2009 10:34am EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Paul Tait
KABUL (Reuters) - A U.S. service member was killed as the deadliest month for foreign troops in the Afghanistan war drew to a close, the U.S. military said on Friday, with commanders vowing to continue the fight despite the toll.
The death in southern Afghanistan brought to 40 the number of U.S. troops killed in July, by far the heaviest monthly toll in the 8-year-old war. The worst previous month for U.S. forces was in September 2008, when 26 were killed.
The latest death occurred in a firefight with insurgents in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, the U.S. military said, without giving further details. At least 70 foreign troops have been killed in July.
Britain has suffered its worst battlefield casualties since the 1980s Falklands War, with the 22 troops killed in the month taking its total losses in Afghanistan to 191, 12 more than were killed in the Iraq war.
Casualties spiked after thousands of U.S. and British troops this month launched major operations in southern Helmand province, a Taliban stronghold and the center of Afghanistan's opium production.
"We understood the return of security to these areas would not be achieved without sacrifice," said U.S. Rear Admiral Greg Smith, chief spokesman for U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.
"For some that has come at a high price," he told Reuters.
"CLEAR, HOLD, BUILD"
The Helmand operations are the first under U.S. President Barack Obama's new regional strategy to defeat the Taliban and its Islamist militant allies and stabilize Afghanistan. They come before crucial presidential elections on August 20.
They are also the first phase of a new "clear, hold and build" strategy introduced after criticism that previous strategies lacked cohesion and direction.
The operations are designed to clear areas of insurgents and then hold them, something that overstretched British-led NATO forces had been unable to do before this month.
"It's too early to assess the true impact of operations in the south. The clearing of insurgents continues and will for many more weeks to come," Smith said.
The United States has around 62,000 troops in Afghanistan, out of a total foreign force of about 101,000. U.S. forces are set to rise to some 68,000 by the end of the year.
The extra troops include 4,000 meant to help train Afghan security forces and will be followed by a "civilian surge" of several hundred meant to help Afghanistan rebuild institutions shattered by decades of war.
General Stanley McChrystal, the new commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, has also introduced a new counter-insurgency strategy and issued a new tactical directive, which includes limiting the use of air strikes, aimed at reducing the number of civilian casualties in the war. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Iran's Ahmadinejad warns rivals their plans will fail
also on reuters
Full Coverage: Uninsured camp out for free healthcare
Commentary: An abnormal recovery for housing market
Former Wall Streeters take on new parenting roles
More International News
Bombs kill at least 28 near Baghdad mosques
Iran's Ahmadinejad warns rivals their plans will fail
Cuba's Communist Party postpones key congress
Hundreds of bodies in streets after Nigeria unrest
| Video
Pakistani court says Musharraf trampled constitution
More International News...
Video
US, UK meet on Afghanistan
Play Video
More Video...
Related News
FACTBOX: Security developments in Afghanistan, July 31
10:34am EDT
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Senator asks Clinton to explain Honduran policy
Obama more bartender than mediator at beer summit | Video
Hollywood stars visit Cuba amid U.S.-Cuba thaw
Pelosi lashes out against insurance companies
New funding sought for U.S. "clunker" program
Photographer Leibovitz sued for breach of contract
WRAPUP 4-U.S. healthcare plan suffers a Senate delay
U.S. economy fares better than expected in latest quarter
White House faces questions on healthcare message
Some U.S. bank pay "unmoored" from performance: Cuomo
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
"Beer Summit" at the White House
Jackson's mother gets custody
Northern Iraq's election impact
Mourners arrested at Iran memorial
Rebel leader dies in custody
Arroyo in Washington
Katherine Jackson gets full custody
Healthcare bill hits a snag
7 year-old in car chase
Shot dead for enforcing smoking ban
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Labs |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.