2010 has been the deadliest year yet for coalition troops in Afghanistan, with 709 troops killed, 497 of those from the U.S. American officials have spoken of a fragile progress, with a possible small drawdown of troops starting next summer, keeping 2014 as the goal date for Afghans to take control. The United Nations released a report saying that more than 2,400 Afghan civilians were killed and more than 3,800 injured in the first 10 months of 2010, with 76% of these casualties being caused by "anti-government elements". The report also shows deaths and injuries caused by "pro-government forces" (U.S. and NATO troops, Afghan army and police) accounted for 12% of civilian casualties, an 18% drop from the same time period last year
Sergeant Sheena Adams, 25, US Marine with the FET (Female Engagement Team) 1st Battalion 8th Marines, Regimental Combat team II works late into the night on her laptop on her reports on November 12, 2010 in Musa Qala, Afghanistan. There are 48 women presently working along the volatile front lines of the war in Afghanistan deployed as the second Female Engagement team participating in a more active role, gaining access where men can't. The women, many who volunteer for the 6.5 month deployment take a 10 week course at Camp Pendleton in California where they are trained for any possible situation, including learning Afghan customs and basic Pashtun language.
Door Gunner Petty Officer Richard Symonds of the Royal Navy wears a Santa Claus outfit as he delivers mail and presents to troops around Helmand province on December 25, 2010
This picture taken on October 21, 2010 shows the filming for an episode of "Separ", the first television series on Afghan police, in a remote village of the Shamali Plains, some 20 km north of Kabul. Separ, the project, financed by the European Union and Canada, aims to improve the image of the Afghan police, often seen as ineffective and corrupt by the population. More than 300,000 Afghan police and army are to take over responsibility for the entire country's security by the end of 2014 from the 140,000 foreign forces deployed in the country
An Afghan girl watches during a cricket game on the school grounds in Kabul on December 28, 2010. Afghanistan is set to select its first ever national women's cricket team in the coming weeks.
A US soldier from 595th Sapper Company 2nd Engineers Battalion blows up some used or unexploded rockets, smoke grenades and mortars in an abandoned house in Loya Derah village during a clearance patrol in Zari district of Kandahar province on December 28, 2010. US Army soldiers patrol the abandoned villages in Zari district to re-clear the area from the explosives as the Afghan villagers have started moving back to their homes.
A security guard working for private armored car company Tiger International holds up a photo of his colleague who was killed during a raid by NATO forces on the Tiger International office in Kabul December 27, 2010. Afghanistan's NATO-led force disputed on Monday an Afghan government accusation that foreign forces had violated a security pact by conducting a night raid in Kabul in which two guards were killed.
Brig. Gen. William "Tim" Crosby presents a flag to Kitaira Jarvis, 11, daughter of Army Sgt. Barry Jarvis, 36, at Deer Creek Baptist Church in Tell City, Indiana on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2010. Jarvis, a member of the 101st Airborne Division in Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, was one of six soldiers killed on Nov. 29 in Afghanistan when a rogue Afghan border policeman turned his gun on his American trainers as the group headed to shooting practice.
An Afghan girl carries water in a plastic container as she ascends a slope on the way towards her house in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Dec. 27, 2010
US Marines from 1st Battalion 8th Marines watch a US Marine CH-53 helicopter drop flares as it leaves Musa Qala in Helmand province on December 14, 2010
Lance Corporal Kristi Baker,21, US Marine with the FET (Female Engagement Team) 1st Battalion 8th Marines, Regimental Combat team II stands guard while on patrol as dust fills the air on November 15, 2010 in Musa Qala, Afghanistan.
Hospital Corpsman Shannon Crowley, 22, US Marine with the FET (Female Engagement Team) 1st Battalion 8th Marines, Regimental Combat team II takes a nap before being sent out on a mission to Kunjak on November 12, 2010 in Musa Qala, Afghanistan.
An Afghan woman clad with a burqa listens to speeches during a demonstration in Kabul, Afghanistan on Friday, Dec. 10, 2010. Several hundred demonstrators, some holding photographs of the victims of three decades of war, shouted for justice and peace Friday in the Afghan capital, just hours before a suicide car bomber blew himself up in the east killing two civilians.
