2008 now most lethal year in Afghanistan

2008 now most lethal year in Afghanistan
By Jason Straziuso - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Sep 12, 2008 13:08:20 EDT

An insurgent attack on an eastern compound killed a soldier Thursday, bringing the year’s death toll to 112 and making 2008 the deadliest for American forces in Afghanistan since the U.S. invaded the country in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The NATO-led force said the soldier was killed in eastern Afghanistan “when insurgents attacked a compound.” It provided no other details, but a western military said the soldier was American.

Afghanistan was the launching pad for al-Qaida’s terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. In response, U.S. forces invaded in October 2001 and drove the Taliban out of power in a matter of weeks.

Once derided as a ragtag insurgency after the fall of their regime, Taliban fighters have transformed into a fighting force advanced enough to mount massive conventional attacks. Suicide and roadside bombs have turned bigger and deadlier than ever.

The number of Arab, Chechen and Uzbek militants flowing into the Afghan-Pakistan theater have increased this year, bringing with them command expertise the Taliban had lacked in previous years.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/09/ap_afghanistan_091108/%2e