Mullen: Expect more Afghanistan casualties

WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Things are going to be worse in Afghanistan this year than in 2010, the United States' most senior military officer said.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said while Taliban leaders have been eliminated in the provinces of Kandahar and Helmand, the gains were "tenuous and fragile," the BBC reported.

"As difficult as it may be to accept, we must prepare ourselves for more violence and more casualties in coming months," Mullen told reporters in Washington Wednesday. "Now is not the time to rest on our laurels, it's the time to press on our advantages and redouble our efforts."

More than 700 NATO troops were killed in fighting in Afghanistan in 2010. American forces will start pulling out of Afghanistan in July.

Mullen said the Afghan strategy announced by President Obama was on track.

"Our military presence will diminish, as it should, but the partnership between our two nations will endure," Mullen said.