NATO admits error, says 2012 Taliban attacks remained constant
KABUL -- Taliban attacks on Afghan and foreign soldiers did not decrease in 2012 as reported earlier, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said Wednesday as it admitted a recordkeeping error.
The ISAF "recently became aware that some data was incorrectly entered into the database that is used for tracking security-related incidents across Afghanistan," press officer Erin Stattel said.
The ISAF reported last month a drop of 7 per cent in the number of attacks by the Taliban last year, which was used by NATO and the US military to claim a decline in the Taliban's prowess.
After the correction, there was no change in the total number of Taliban attacks from 2011 to 2012, the ISAF said.
Stattel did not disclose exact numbers. She also did not say if other figures were affected by the error as well.
"In spite of this data adjustment, our assessment of the fundamentals of campaign progress has not changed," she said. "The enemy is increasingly separated from the population."
The Taliban remained undefeated despite a decade-long effort by NATO and the United States. They still launch deadly attacks regularly around the country, including the capital.
On Wednesday, a Taliban suicide bomber targeted a military bus in Kabul. Six army personnel and one civilian were injured.
