KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- The number of Afghan civilians killed or wounded by insurgents was up 25 percent in the first 10 months of 2010, a U.N. report said this week.
Overall, 10 percent more civilians died violently from January to October than in the same period in 2009, The Washington Post reported. The United Nations found fewer civilians were killed by government and Coalition forces.
The Taliban denounced the report Thursday, posting a message online that called the report "a propaganda stint aimed at concealing American brutalities."
The Taliban and other insurgent groups killed or injured 4,738 civilians during the 10 months, the report said. The number of casualties caused by Afghan and Coalition troops was 742, down 18 percent.
U.S. airstrikes were a major cause of civilian deaths, killing 162 and injuring 120.
At least 705 soldiers from Coalition countries were killed this year, a 35 percent increase over the record-high 521 military deaths reported last year.
