September 5, 2013 - 09:46 AMT
British general says Afghan military proving to be ‘effective force’

The top British commander in Afghanistan says the country's own military is proving to be an "effective force" despite rising casualties.

According to BBC News, Lieutenant General John Lorimer said that Afghan troops had demonstrated "resilience" in the face of Taliban attacks and were taking on insurgents.

NATO troops are handing over security responsibility to local forces before a withdrawal from Afghanistan next year.

Taliban attacks have left scores of civilians dead in the past week.

"When you are fighting a ruthless enemy inevitably you are going to take some casualties," said Gen Lorimer, NATO's second-in-command in Afghanistan.

In an interview with the BBC in Kabul, he described the Afghan military as "well trained".

"They're developing leaders," the general added. "They are going on the front foot, taking the fight to the insurgents."

Meanwhile, U.S. Lieutenant General Mark Milley, the deputy commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said "somewhere in the range of 50 to 100 or so Afghan security forces are killed in action per week."

Gen Milley said Islamist militants fighting Kabul remained resilient but were not in a position to score a decisive victory and take back control of the country after NATO forces depart.

"I do not think at this point in time, with the strength and capability of the Afghan security forces, that the Taliban or any of their allies have the capability to re-seize political power in the country of Afghanistan under current conditions," he said, according to AFP.

The casualty rate for Afghan forces surpasses that for U.S. forces during the most deadly year for the NATO-led force in 2010, when about 500 American troops lost their lives in the war.

So far this year, about 100 U.S. troops have been killed in action.

Afghanistan's 350,000-strong security forces are suffering a steep rise in attacks as the NATO mission winds down.

About 57,000 U.S. troops are deployed in Afghanistan and the bulk of allied forces are due to withdraw in 2014, with tentative plans for a small contingent to remain afterward.