Pentagon: Afghan attacks down overall, insider threat rises

Washington – A U.S. Department of Defense report says the number of insurgent attacks rose slightly in Afghanistan in April through September. But they were still lower for the first nine months of 2012 than during the same period last year.

The semi-annual report to Congress says attacks rose 1 percent in the six-month reporting period ending in September.

For the first nine months of this year, attacks declined 3 percent from last year. They had declined 9 percent in the same period in 2011.

The report says there is a continuing problem with insider attacks, in which Afghan forces or people dressed in Afghan uniforms turn their weapons on coalition troops who are training them.