London, September 18: Violent unrest in Afghanistan has risen by 60 percent compared with last year and Taliban insurgents have “expanded their strength and influence,” General David Petraeus says.
“Some of that (violence) may be attributable to Afghan forces and ISAF going on the offensive recently,” General Petraeus, the commander of US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, said in a Thursday speech in London.
His speech came hours after a massive suicide car bomb killed six Italian soldiers and 10 Afghan civilians. Authorities described the bombing as one of the deadliest attacks on Western troops in Kabul.
“They benefit from reasonable freedom of movement in border areas, funding their activities from the narcotics industry and donations,” General Petraeus said.
He added that the insurgents have “expanded their strength and influence, particularly in places which lack Afghan security forces.”
Foreign troops’ casualties in Afghanistan are at record levels, with at least 365 deaths reported in 2009, and the mounting number of Western soldiers coming home in body bags has sent support for the war plummeting in Europe and the United States.
—–Agencies