Insurgent Attacks Rise 11%, MOD Confirms

The Ministry of Defense today confirmed a report in the Wall Street Journal saying there had been an 11 percent increase in insurgent activity in Afghanistan in the past three months.

The increase corresponds with the start of the Taliban's spring offensive, deputy spokesman for the defense ministry, Dawlat Waziri, said at a press conference in Kabul on Saturday.

He said that insurgents were able to operate during warm nights during the spring and summer rather than seek shelter from the bitter cold at home as they did during the winter months.

The Wall Street Journal article cited a Nato official as saying that June had seen the highest number of monthly attacks in almost two years, with more than 3,000 incidents, including firefights and bomb blasts.

"The real cause of the increase in insurgent attacks in the past three months is the pressure from Isaf and Afghan forces on terrorist hideouts," Isaf spokesman Brigadier General Günter Katz told TOLOnews on Saturday. He said this pressure would continue.

The upturn comes as foreign forces continue their withdrawal from Afghanistan and hand over responsibility for proving security to Afghan forces.