2007 Afhan's most violent year : UN

United Nations, Oct 2 (UNI) Year 2007 has been the most violent one for Afghanistan since the 2001 US-led intervention, a UN report said.

The ''internal report'' sharply contrasts the recent upbeat appraisals by the US President Bush and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai.

''The security situation in Afghanistan is assessed by most analysts as having deteriorated at a constant rate through 2007,'' said the report compiled by the Kabul office of the UN Department of Safety and Security.

As many as 525 incidents like attacks by the Taliban and other violent groups, bombings, terrorism of other kinds, and abductions were recorded every month during the first half of this year, up from an average of 425 incidents per month in 2006.

The UN's Half-Year Review of the Security Situation in Afghanistan highlighted the continuing resurgence of the Taliban, which many experts attribute to Mr Bush's decision to shift troops and resources to Iraq, the US failure to capture the militia's top leaders and the refuge the militia has secured in the lawless tribal region of neighboring Pakistan.

On Friday, Mr Bush and Mr Karzai held talks in New York and touted advances made since the Taliban's ouster, including reduced childhood mortality rates, and increases in the numbers of health clinics and children going to school.

However, the UN report said that the nature of the Taliban insurgency has changed significantly since 2006. Guerrillas have been relying more heavily on suicide attacks, improvised explosive devices, assassinations, intimidation and abductions, it added.

UNI