New report shows 2017 was one of the better years in Afghanistan — and it was still pretty awful – ThinkProgress
[ad_1] According to the most recent report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), things are looking better (kind of) in the war-torn country: Civilian casualties are down, and over the course of the winter, the Taliban did not take any new provincial capitals. “Afghan and international officials attributed this to the intensified air-strike campaign by Coalition and Afghan forces and more night raids by Afghan special forces,” reads the report. It’s worth noting, though, those airstrikes also kill civilians with alarming regularity . Relatives and friends of Agence France Presse Afghanistan Chief Photographer Shah Marai Faizi, including his AFP photographer colleague Wakil Kohsar (R) carry Marai’s coffin before his burial in Gul Dara, Kabul on April 30, 2018, after his death in the second of two bombings that occurred in the Afghan capital. CREDIT: Andrew Quilty/AFP/Getty Images. Also, winter is not combat fighting season in the country — hen...