Afghan War Killed 2 Kids a Day in 2010

Nearly 740 kids—an average of about two a day—were killed in the Afghanistan war last year, says a watchdog group. About two-thirds of those deaths were blamed on insurgents—or "armed opposition groups" in the language of the report—with 17% blamed on US and NATO forces. The kids were among the record-high 2,421 Afghan civilians killed in war-related violence in 2010, reports Reuters.

The number of deaths among kids is actually down from 1,050 in 2009, but the independent Afghanistan Rights Monitor says it's still inexcusable. "Children were highly vulnerable to the harms of war but little was done by the combatant sides, particularly by the AOGs, to ensure child safety and security during military and security incidents." All this comes against the backdrop of an escalating air war, notes Wired.
(More Afghanistan war stories.)