Fewer Afghan Civilians Killed in Airstrikes Last Year: UN
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The number of Afghan civilians killed in airstrikes fell by nearly a half last year, the United Nations said, a day after President Hamid Karzai barred local forces from calling in air support in a bid to stem casualties.
In its annual survey, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said at least 2,754 civilians were killed amid clashes between Afghan and U.S.-led troops and the Taliban in 2012, a 12 percent drop compared with a year earlier and the first fall in six years. The number who died in aerial bombing by international forces dropped 42 percent to 126, it said.