Afghanistan policemen stand guard in a building which was used for an attack. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
Almost twelve years after coalition forces invaded Afghanistan, swathes of territory are firmly under Taliban control and Afghan troops are still heavily reliant on foreign air support, particularly in remote areas.
Their lighter vehicles make them particularly vulnerable to roadside bombs.
The Afghan government, anxious not to damage morale, has been reluctant to publish regular casualty numbers. It no longer publishes death tolls for the army.
Interior Ministry figures published on Monday showed 1,792 police have been killed since March, most of them by roadside bombs, the same number who died in the preceding 12 months, according to data published on Monday.
It is one of the highest police death rates in the world and raises further questions over how the government will be able to keep the Taliban at bay once foreign troops have withdrawn fully from Afghanistan at the end of 2014.
"Afghan police are not as well equipped as foreign troops," said interior ministry spokesperson Sediq Sediqqi. "Afghan police forces are in the first line of defence and more exposed to insurgents' attacks."
COMMENTS (2)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
1732618327-2/Untitled-design-(7)1732618327-2-270x192.webp "instagram adds live location sharing and nicknames to dms")
90% of civilian casualties, which translate into thousands of innocent deaths, are at the hands of the Taliban. Still, there are many people who see the Taliban as heroes. I wonder why?
There not poorly equipped - as far as "less experience" that's a self correcting problem. It's time Afghan's learned to defend themselves - Taliban were not born "battle hardened" - they learned on the battlefield.