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. The toll here does not generally include claims of insurgents killed by the government, because of the difficulty of verifying such claims. Similarly, the reports do not include attacks on the government claimed by the Taliban. Both sides routinely inflate casualties of their opponents.

Afghan security force casualties greatly increased in the past week, with 152 dead, despite the cold weather at a time when the fighting normally slows down. Instead of focusing on taking over government positions and looting bases, the insurgents appear to be focusing on maximizing casualties in hit-and-run attacks. There was also an unusual increase in Taliban attacks in the west of the country, especially in Herat Province, where five attacks were carried out in the week. Previously, attacks at all were rare there. Farah Province continued to be another focus of Taliban offensives. There appeared to be relatively few government counterattacks.

[Read the Afghan War Casualty Report from previous weeks.]

Dec. 13 Kandahar Province: one police officer killed

A district police chief in Kandahar City was killed by a mine that had been attached to his vehicle.