Agence France Presse, 19 March 2007
Bomb attacks in Afghanistan rose three-fold between 2005 and 2006, figures released by the government on Monday showed.
According to Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram, attacks using improvised explosive devices (IEDs) rose from about 500 in 2005, to 1,525 last year.
Ingram said that while the figures were an estimate, most of the attacks were against either International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops, or soldiers from the Afghan National Security Forces.
Of the total number of bombings, suicide attacks rose by six times — from 25 two years ago to 150 in 2006.
“In 2006, it is assessed that there were approximately 1,525 IED attacks, of which approximately 150 were suicide IED attacks,” Ingram said.
“These figures do not necessarily represent the complete statistics but are an estimate.”
Since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in November 2001, 52 British soldiers have died there.
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Citation: "Bombings Triple in Afghanistan in 2006," Agence France Presse, 19 March 2007.
Original URL: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070319/wl_uk_afp/britainafghanistanbomb_070319201027
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