Taliban blamed for rising Afghan deaths

KABUL, Afghanistan, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Taliban and other anti-government groups are to blame to most of the rising civilian death toll in Afghanistan, a U.N. report said.

The U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a joint report, said they recorded 3,021 civilian deaths in Afghanistan in 2011, up 8 percent from the previous year.

The report said Taliban and other anti-government forces were responsible for at least 75 percent of the civilians killed last year.

"Unremitting civilian casualties coupled with pervasive intimidation by parties to the conflict and an expanding number of pro- and anti-government armed groups affected many Afghan civilians directly, and many more indirectly, by fueling uncertainty, tension and fear," the report read.

The report follows statements from U.S. and NATO defense leaders that Afghan forces would start assuming command of military operations in the country next year.

NATO ministers agreed during a 2010 meeting in Portugal to reduce their military presence in Afghanistan gradually with the goal of pulling out by 2014.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said last week that international forces would be "fully combat-ready" through the transition process, however.

Panetta added that the fact that coalition leaders were discussing transition was a sign of progress in Afghanistan.