ANA loses 950 soldiers in six months

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Ministry of Defence (MoD) revealed on Tuesday some 6,853 Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers have lost lives during the past 11 years.

Gen. Zahir Azimi, the (MoD) spokesman, wrote on his twitter handle that 2013 was the bloodiest for the ANA. As many as 1,392 soldiers were killed during the year.

He recalled nine soldiers had been killed in 2003, 51 in 2004, 138 in 2005, 206 in 2007, 325 in 2007 and 380 in 2008. The figures show a steady increase in casualties after security transition.

The annual death toll swelled to 635 in 2009, 748 in 2010, 831 in 2011, 1170 in 2012, and 1,392 last year. During the first six months of the current year, some 950 soldiers have been killed.

Qazi Muhammad Hassan Haqyar, a security analyst, believes the reason behind the steady rise in the death toll was the transfer of security responsibilities from NATO to Afghan forces.

sks/mud