More than 170 killed in Afghan attacks in September

More than 170 people were killed and hundreds wounded in bombings and attacks across Afghanistan last month, according to official figures. A total of 40 major bomb attacks took place in various parts of the country last month. Around eight were of suicide nature, involving 22 suicide bombers, including complex suicide attacks. The Taliban insurgent group has intensified attacks since they launched annual rebel offensive against Afghan forces and more than 78,000 NATO-led coalition troops in April this year. During the month of September, nearly 20 improvised explosive device (IED) or roadside bomb blasts also rocked the country, with bulk of the victim civilians. On Sept. 28, five civilians were killed and seven others wounded in two separate home-made IED blasts in Uruzgan and Ghazni provinces. In one incident, seven civilians had been killed and 17 injured when a bus set off an IED also in Ghazni province. The bloodiest attack occurred on Sept. 8, as the Taliban launched a coordinated attack against a local office of National Directorate for Security (NDS), the country's intelligence agency, in eastern Wardak province. Four NDS personnel and six suicide attackers were killed and more than 120 people were injured in the attack during which a suicide truck bomb also detonated in the province, just west of Kabul. In another incident on Sept. 13, the militants carried out a suicide truck bomb in eastern Paktika province, injuring 21 people, including five civilians. In one attack, the Taliban ambushed a police convoy, killing 18 policemen in northern Badakhshan province on Sept. 18, in the raid which also injured 10 cops. At least 12 targeting killings occurred in different provinces last month, claiming the lives of several government officials and local leaders. A senior policewoman, an election official and several government employees and local leaders were among the dead in such attacks. Up to 12 foreign soldiers of the NATO-led coalition forces also lost their lives last month. Four U.S. soldiers were killed in the two incidents of the so- called green-on-blue attacks when Afghan army or police turned their weapons against coalition troops. In one incident, one Afghan army soldier shot dead three U.S. soldiers in Gardez, the provincial capital of eastern Paktiya province on Sept. 21. The attacker was also killed in the firing. On Sept. 26, one U.S. soldier was killed in similar incident at the same province. Three coalition soldiers died in IED attacks in eastern Afghan provinces over the past month. The UN Assistance Mission for Afghanistan recently reported that more than 1,310 Afghan civilians were killed and more than 2, 500 wounded in acts of terrorism and violence in the first half of the year, a 23 percent rise in overall civilian casualties compared with the same period of last year. Local analysts feared that the Taliban would continue their attacks across the country as Afghan army and police took the lead in combat operations and the country is preparing for the presidential election slated for early next year. Most of the foreign forces are due to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of next year. The exact number of the casualties on Afghan army and police is not revealed and remained unknown. The country's Interior Ministry figures showed that more than 600 militants were killed, 263 arrested and over 210 wounded since a series of military operations were launched last month across the central Asian country.