KABUL, Afghanistan  The number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan continued to climb in the first half of 2010, with an increasing number of children in the toll and a spike in the recently troubled northeast. More than ever, the deaths were caused by insurgents, the United Nations said in a report released Tuesday.

In its midyear report, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, known as Unama, said the number of civilians wounded and killed increased by nearly a third in the first six months of the year, as coalition forces raised the level of military action against insurgents.

In that period, 1,271 civilians were killed and 1,997 were wounded, the report said, with more than three-quarters attributable to what it called “antigovernment elements.”

Death and injury to children were up 55 percent, with 176 killed and 389 wounded, the report said, noting that improvised bombs were often placed in areas frequented by the young, like parks and markets.