Switch to Desktop Site  Afghan violence snares civilians  Next
Previous  Page 2 of 3  About these ads  "The attacks overall
have been steady, but there are more attacks on Afghan civilians
than on coalition forces," says Lt. Col. Douglas Lefforge,
spokesman for the US military at Bagram Air Base near Kabul.
"That's generally how cowards do their business. They attack the
weak. They hide behind a cause, Islam, but everything they do is
against their own belief systems in Islam."  Experts say there
is no clear pattern of increasing attacks, but the death tolls
have certainly grown, especially in the last week - the
bloodiest since Operation Anaconda in March 2002. But unlike
previous battles, those of the last two weeks have not involved
the 12,500-strong US-led coalition.  Afghan government sources
suggest that the Taliban has changed its tactics because its
attacks on US forces have proved ineffective. Rocket attacks
against the US military base in Asadabad this week are typical.
Three rockets were fired on M