Washington, June 29: The death toll of US-led forces during the war in Afghanistan has reached the unprecedented number of 100 for the month of June, an AFP tally shows.
The death toll was updated after the US Department of Defense announced Monday the death of an American soldier on June 24 in Afghanistan’s western province of Farah, taking the toll so far this year to 320.
The statement by the US Defense Department said a 20-year-old private had died on June 24 of “injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident.”
Considering the latest death, the month of June becomes the deadliest for US-led troops in Afghanistan since the occupation of the country in 2001.
The UN reported this month that attacks using improvised explosive devices had risen by 94 percent in the first four months of this year, compared to the same period in 2009.
NATO officials say the rise in fatalities is due to an increase in the number of military operations as well as the heavy use of roadside bombs by the Taliban.
The climbing number of NATO fatalities comes amid signs of division among the western military alliance.
CIA Director Leon Panetta admitted Sunday that the Afghan war has proven to be much harder and longer than anticipated.
Panetta also alluded to serious problems in the US-led war and that the Taliban are gaining an upper hand in the battle.
The mounting death toll has put the leaders of the US and its allies under mounting public pressure. The growing casualties have also prompted expanding opposition to the Afghan war in countries that serve in the western military alliance.
The US-led the invasion of Afghanistan was launched with the official objective of curbing militancy and bringing peace and stability to the country. Nine years on, however, US and Afghan officials admit the country remains unstable as civilians continue to pay the heaviest price.
——-Agencies