Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai asked a visiting United Nations Security Council team to help reduce the number of civilians killed in clashes between Taliban insurgents and U.S. and NATO forces, his spokesman said.

Karzai told the delegation that one of his “main requests” was for international troops “to avoid civilian casualties during the military operations against the terrorists,” Humayun Hamidzada said at a news conference in Kabul yesterday.

In the first eight months of this year, 1,445 civilians were killed in Afghanistan, either by international and Afghan forces or militants, an increase of 39 percent on the same period last year when 1,040 died, according to the UN.

Karzai has repeatedly criticized international troops for civilian deaths as NATO and the U.S. military battle Taliban insurgents trying to topple his government. The UN delegation, which includes the U.S. ambassador to the world body, Afghan- born Zalmay Khalilzad, arrived in the country two days ago on a fact-finding mission.

Karzai, who is due to stand for re-election next year, has pushed for talks with insurgents who renounce links with al- Qaeda and accept the post-Taliban constitution as a way to help end the spiraling violence. Taliban insurgents have demanded the withdrawal of foreign troops before any talks.

Acid Attack

Afghan police arrested 10 Taliban militants allegedly involved in a Nov. 12 acid attack against 15 girls and teachers walking to school in Kandahar in the country’s south, Hamidzada said. If convicted, the accused will face “the most extreme punishment allowed by law,” he said.

Kandahar is the stronghold of the Taliban movement, which ruled Afghanistan from 1997-2001, and one of the country’s most conservative regions. Girls were banned from schools under Taliban rule, and women were only allowed to leave the house accompanied by a male family member and wearing the all-covering dress and veil known as a burqa.

The attackers squirted acid from water bottles onto students and teachers walking to school. Several girls suffered burns to the face and were hospitalized. A Taliban spokesman has denied the group was responsible for the attack.

Afghanistan has pushed to improve access to education for girls since the Taliban’s ouster.

The attack on the girls drew widespread condemnation, including from Karzai and U.S. First Lady Laura Bush, who described it as “cowardly and shameful.”

So far this year, there have been 256 violent school incidents, resulting in 58 deaths and 46 injuries, the UN Children’s Fund said in a statement this month

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Heath in Sydney at mheath1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 25, 2008 20:58 EST