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Prodigy, 21, about to become doctor
WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Insurgent-planted bombs have killed 75 percent more Afghan civilians so far this year than for the same period a year ago, a report said.
The improvised explosive devices have killed 1,859 civilians this year compared to 1,097 a year ago, USA Today reported Thursday.
Military officials said the Taliban has killed 132 percent more civilians than a year ago in one area alone in southern Afghanistan, despite the presence of thousands of U.S. troops.
The makeshift bombs are the leading killer in the war and are often made from cheap ingredients such as fuel oil and fertilizer, the paper said.
"It is used principally to coerce the population from cooperating with the Afghan government and ... the coalition force," said Lt. Gen. Michael Oates, who heads the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization.
More than 2,400 Afghan civilians were killed last year and the U.S. was responsible for about 25 percent, the United Nations said in a report.
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