Afghan War Casualty Report: Nov. 9-15

The following reports compile all significant security incidents confirmed by New York Times reporters throughout Afghanistan. It is necessarily incomplete as many local officials refuse to confirm casualty information.

This week President Ashraf Ghani revealed that 28,529 members of the Afghan security forces have been killed in the past four years, since 2015. That tally, which he gave during a video address Nov. 12 to Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, was the highest to come from his government yet. While he gave no breakdown of that number, previous government estimates put security force death tolls at 5,000 in 2015 and nearly 7,000 in 2016; after that, the Afghan government began classifying casualty totals. That means a total of about 16,500 this year and last year, about 25 a day or 175 a week — far more than Afghan government officials are usually willing to confirm.

[Read Afghan Military Deaths Since 2015: More Than 28,000]

That average rate was exceeded last week, despite the onset of cold weather in most of the country. The Times confirmed that at least 242 members of the security forces were killed, once again a significant increase over the previous week. Historically, fighting has greatly declined by this time in past years.

During the week, an entire company of Afghan commandos was wiped out only days after they were sent to rescue Jaghori District in Ghazni, an anti-insurgent stronghold. Although Times photographers took photos and video of the bodies of 20 commandos brought to the governor’s office, the Ghazni police chief, Dawood Tarakhel, publicly denied any serious casualty toll in Jaghori.

[Read the Afghan War casualty report for Nov. 02-08]

Nov. 15 Farah Province: 42 security forces and government employees killed

The Taliban carried out a coordinated attack on Khurma Base, a joint installation in Bala Bolok District. Due to security problems in Khak-e-Safid District, the district governor’s office had been previously forced to move there. The attack started when Taliban infiltrators inside the base started firing, then additional insurgents attacked the base from the outside, killing all 42 soldiers, police officers and government employees inside. Officials did not provide a breakdown of casualties.

Nov. 15 Wardak Province: three local police killed

The Taliban attacked a local police outpost in the Ambokhak area of Chak District, killing three local police officers and wounding three others.

Nov. 15 Daikundi Province: six local police killed

Six local police officers were killed by the Taliban when they were on patrol in the Sof area of Kejran District. Kejran is considered a safe district, and the Taliban attack there was unprecedented.

Nov. 15 Ghazni Province: 14 police killed

The Taliban attacked and captured a police outpost in Ghazni city, killing 14 police officers.

Nov. 14 Wardak Province: six soldiers killed

The Taliban attacked an army outpost in the Malangi area of Sayed Abad District, killing six soldiers and wounding five others. The outpost was captured by the Taliban, but later it was retaken by government forces. The Taliban seized all equipment and weapons from the post.

Nov. 14 Logar Province: two police killed

A Taliban infiltrator opened fire on his colleagues in the Matani Bridge area of Pul-e-Alam, provincial capital, killing two local police officers and wounding one other.

Nov. 14 Ghazni Province: five security forces killed

The Taliban attacked a police outpost in Bakawol village in Ghazni city, the provincial capital, killing two police officers and wounding four others. An army unit was sent in when clashes intensified, which was subsequently ambushed by the Taliban. Three soldiers were killed in the ambush.

Nov. 14 Farah Province: two police killed

The Taliban attacked police outposts in Bala Bolok District, killing two police officers and wounding three others. Five Taliban fighters were also killed and seven others were wounded.

Nov. 14 Oruzgan Province: six police killed

The Taliban attacked a joint army and police security outpost in the Painawa area of Tarinkot, the provincial capital. The insurgents captured three outposts in the area, and killed at least six police officers and wounded eight others. A number of soldiers also suffered casualties, but the exact number was not clear. Critics complained that the province’s National Directorate of Security chief and its police chief were not present in the province, resulting in a leadership crisis that the insurgents exploited.

Nov. 14 Kunduz Province: six soldiers killed

The Taliban attacked every army and police outpost and bases in Aq Tepa, the center of Qala-e-Zal District, killing six soldiers and wounding eight others. The Taliban fighters were eventually pushed out of the district center by security forces.

Nov. 14 Takhar Province: three local police killed

Around 150 Taliban fighters attacked three security outposts in the Chaghat area of Ishkamish District, killing three local police officers and wounding nine others.

Nov. 13 Kunduz Province: one civilian killed

In Khan Abad District, the Taliban arrested and killed one civilian, because his brother, who was killed by the Taliban last year, had once been a member of a pro-government militia.

Nov. 13 Zabul Province: two police killed

The Taliban carried out a coordinated attack on a police outpost in Mizan District, killing two police officers. Eight Taliban fighters were killed and 11 others were wounded in the clashes.

Nov. 13 Nimroz Province: two police killed

The Taliban attacked a Kamal Khan Dam security outpost in Chahar Burjak District, killing two police officers. Three Taliban fighters were also killed in the attack.

Nov. 13 Ghazni Province: five civilians killed

In an ongoing assault on the district center of Maalistan, the Taliban killed five civilians. Several American airstrikes killed 60 Taliban insurgents.

Nov. 12 Baghlan Province: a police officer and two civilians killed

The Taliban attacked and captured a police outpost in Baba Ghalib village of Burka District. A police officer was killed and three others were wounded in the fighting. Two civilians were also killed.

Nov. 12 Farah Province: 38 security forces and seven civilians killed

The Taliban attacked police outposts on the outskirts of Farah city, the provincial capital, killing five police officers. Eight others were taken prisoner by the Taliban.

The Taliban attacked a police outpost in Gulistan District, killing four police officers and wounding seven others.

The Taliban attacked the valley of Khust in Khak-e-Safed District. At least 27 local police officers and two national police officers were killed in the clashes. A woman, two children and four men were also killed during the fighting. The insurgents burned down 10 houses belonging to local and national police officers. The houses were abandoned, but full of their belongings. The Taliban captured several police outposts in the area and took the control of the valley.

Nov. 12 Zabul Province: one police killed

The Taliban attacked a police outpost in Mizan District, killing one police officer and wounding three others. Four Taliban fighters were also killed and seven others were wounded in the fighting.

Nov. 12 Kunduz Province: two soldiers killed

Two soldiers were killed and another was wounded in an insider attack in the Dobande area of Chahar Dara District. The attacker was a Taliban infiltrator, who joined the insurgents after the attack.

Nov. 12 Kabul city: one member of security forces and five civilians killed

One member of the security forces and five civilians men were killed and 20 people, including three members of security forces, were wounded in a suicide attack in Kabul city targeting a protest.

Nov. 11 Oruzgan Province: 10 soldiers killed

The Taliban attacked army outposts on the outskirt of Tarinkot, the provincial capital, killing 10 soldiers. Insurgents captured four of the outposts.

Nov. 11 Baghlan Province: 12 security forces and three civilians killed

The Taliban launched an assault on army and police outposts in Burka District, killing nine soldiers, three police and three civilians. Two police officers and one civilian were wounded. One army outpost that was captured by the Taliban was later recovered by security forces.

Nov. 11 Faryab Province: one police killed

The Taliban attacked and captured a police outpost in the Mehrabad area of Qurghan District. One police officer killed and three others were wounded. The outpost was later retaken by security forces.

Nov. 11 Ghazni Province: 80 security forces killed

At least 80 members of the security forces, including more than 30 commandos, were killed in a Taliban assault on Jaghori District. Another 10 commandos were wounded, and the remainder of the entire company of 50 sent to rescue Jaghori fled the front lines. The district was on the verge of being overrun, but reinforcements held back the insurgents at least temporarily.

[Taliban Slaughter Elite Afghan Troops, and a ‘Safe’ District Is Falling]

Several of the surviving commandos attempted to flee Jaghori District by forcibly commandeering cars belonging to hospital officials in Sang-e-Masha, according to a hospital official who was among those forced to take them. The cars were not able to handle the rough mountain tracks, which were the only escape route, and returned to Sang-e-Masha.

Nov. 11 Jowzjan Province: two security forces killed

A roadside bomb hit a military truck in the Sherkhel area of Sheberghan city, the provincial capital, killing two officers of the National Directorate of Security.

Nov. 10 Badghis Province: four security forces killed

The Taliban attacked an army outpost in Qades District, killing two soldiers, a local police officer and one pro-government militia member. Three members of pro-government militias were also wounded in the attack.

Nov. 10 Herat Province: two civilians and six security forces killed

Five security forces and two civilians, including the district governor of Kohsan District, were killed in an explosion inside the district governor’s office, after the governor’s bodyguards mistakenly fired an R.P.G. inside the building.

The Taliban attacked a police outpost in the Karez area of Shindand District, killing one police officer and wounding another.

Nov. 09 Badghis Province: seven police killed

The Taliban attacked a police outpost in Ab Kamari District, killing three police officers and wounding five others.

The Taliban attacked a police outpost in Moqor District, killing four police officers and wounding six others.

Nov. 09 Badakhshan Province: three police killed

The Taliban attacked a police headquarters in Faizabad city, the provincial capital, killing three police officers and wounding three others. One Taliban fighter was also killed in the clashes.

Nov. 09 Farah Province: seven police killed

The Taliban carried out coordinated attacks on police outposts around Farah city, the provincial capital. Seven police officers were killed. Twenty Taliban militants were also killed or wounded, but officials did not provide a breakdown of Taliban casualties.

Nov. 09 Kunduz Province: 10 security forces killed

The Taliban attacked Aq Tepa, the center of Qala-i-Zal District. Four local police officers and six pro-government militia members were killed and 11 security forces were wounded. Six security outposts were captured by the Taliban.

The Qarloq area in Dahst-e-Archi District, made up of 22 villages, collapsed to the Taliban. Security forces abandoned two military bases and two outposts before any fighting began, after constant assaults on the area wore them down.

Reporting was contributed by the following New York Times reporters: Rod Nordland, Mujib Mashal, Fahim Abed and Fatima Faizi from Kabul; Najim Rahim from Mazar-e-Sharif; Taimoor Shah from Kandahar; Farooq Jan Mangal from Khost; Mohammad Saber from Herat; and Zabihullah Ghazi from Jalalabad.

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