Kabul - The number of roadside bombing attacks in
Afghanistan jumped by 50 per cent in the first eight months of the
year, according to a top official in the International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF).
German General Hans-Lothar Domroese, chief of staff of the ISAF,
told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that 1,200 such bombs had been
detonated by radical Islamic militia by August this year.
In the same period last year, 800 such attacks had been recorded.
The development was very worrying, Domroese said.
'The rebels have not yet been beaten,' he said.
On Wednesday, a German master sergeant was killed as a patrol
happened on an improvised explosive device (IED) in northern
Afghanistan's Kundus region. On Sunday, another German patrol
triggered a roadside bomb, but no one was injured.
The general said that sappers had dismantled 1,300 such bombs this
year, compared with 850 bombs dismantled last year.
'That shows clearly that our soldiers are well trained and aware
of the danger,' he said.
The Taliban rebels have increased their technical capability,
Domroese said. They have, for example, reacted to jamming devises
used by military convoys to interfere with remote detonation by using
more cables and pressure plates to control the devices.
'The Taliban is figuring out how to hit us. But they can't beat
us,' Domroese said.
Domroese said suicide bombing attacks had increased slightly from
the 160 attacks in the previous year. Most of the victims were
civilians, the general noted.
Domroese urged more international engagement in civilian
reconstruction. The ISAF was committed to the strategy of 'clear,
hold and build' in order to purge a region of rebels and hold the
area under control so that reconstruction can move forwards.
The NATO-led troops were fulfilling their part of the strategy, he
said.
Domroese said he expects that by 2012 or 2013, the Afghanistan
military will have 120,000 trained soldiers. Reaching that goal was
necessary before one could consider reducing NATO's presence, he
said. There are currently 63,000 trained Afghan troops.
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