Civilian casualties in Afghanistan rose 22% in 2014: UN

Kabul: The number of civilians killed and wounded in Afghanistan jumped 22 percent in 2014, the UN said Wednesday, as NATO troops withdrew from combat leaving government forces to battle a raging Taliban insurgency.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan attributed the rise to an intensification in ground fighting, resulting in a total of 10,548 civilian casualties last year, compared with the 2013 figure of 8,637.