Afghanistan killings

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The United Nations said Tuesday that 1,445 Afghan civilians have been killed so far this year in attacks by insurgents or U.S.- and NATO-led forces — a 40 percent increase over 2007.

Exactly 800 of the deaths, or 55 percent, were caused by Taliban fighters and other insurgents, the U.N. report said. It said that was almost double the 462 civilian deaths attributed to anti-government fighters in the first seven months of last year.

U.S., NATO and Afghan troops killed 577 civilians, or 40 percent, including 395 deaths caused by airstrikes, the report said. That was up 21 percent from the 477 deaths that the U.N. said were inflicted by pro-government forces in 2007.

An additional 68 civilians died in crossfire or other incidents for which U.N. officials couldn’t determine responsibility, the report said.

UN: 1,445 Afghan civilians killed in 2008 violence