Higher Troop Casualties Likely in Afghanistan

By Lisa DanielAmerican Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 12, 2010 – Increased troop casualties in Afghanistan are to be expected this summer, and likely will continue through the fall as U.S. forces ramp up counterinsurgency efforts in anticipation of a drawdown to begin next year, a military official said yesterday.

photo: Soldiers from an Airborne Division inspect an Afghanistan village

\”It will be a tough fall. But what we\’re gaining is, we\’re clearing these areas that never have been cleared,\” a senior U.S. military officer who serves in Afghanistan said during a background interview with Pentagon reporters.

The uptick in violence was expected as more troops flow into the country and increase operations to quash Taliban control, he said. The last of 30,000 additional troops President Barack Obama authorized should be in place by the end of this month.