
Civilian casualties in Afghanistan hit record high amid US withdrawal, UN says
CNN
Civilian casualties in Afghanistan reached record levels in the first half of 2021, the United Nations warned Monday, noting that deaths and injuries spiked markedly from May when the United States and its allies began withdrawing troops from the country.
Some 5,183 casualties were recorded in the first six months of the year -- a 47% increase from 2020 -- the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) found in a report. The number of deaths and injuries recorded during May and June alone was 2,392, almost as high as the total for the preceding four months, when 2,791 casualties were recorded.
The alleged drug traffickers killed by the US military in a strike on September 2 were heading to link up with another, larger vessel that was bound for Suriname — a small South American country east of Venezuela – the admiral who oversaw the operation told lawmakers on Thursday according to two sources with direct knowledge of his remarks.

The two men killed as they floated holding onto their capsized boat in a secondary strike against a suspected drug vessel in early September did not appear to have radio or other communications devices, the top military official overseeing the strike told lawmakers on Thursday, according to two sources with direct knowledge of his congressional briefings.











