The United States Special Inspector General for Reconstruction (SIGAR) has said at least 807 Afghan soldiers lost their lives just in the first six weeks of 2017.

Calling the casualties among the Afghan forces as ‘shockingly high', the latest SIGAR report also indicates a record number of casualties among civilians.

According to the report, the civilian casualties in Afghanistan rose to 11,418 during the year 2016, the highest since the United Nations began keeping records in 2009.

The latest report was reportedly released late on Sunday with an aim to a reality check for the Trump administration and Defense Secretary James Mattis.

The US defense secretary in Afghanistan in an unannounced last week to review the situation of the country as the Trump administration is expecting to announce its Afghanistan policy within the next few weeks.

The former US Ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad said last month that the new policy of Donald Trump administration regarding Afghanistan will likely be finalized in mid-May.

Speaking to BBC's Pashto service, Khalilzad said negotiations are underway in this regard and it is likely that the talks will conclude on 15th May.

He said a result is expected on 15th May as there is a summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization afterwards in Italy and President Donald Trump will attend the meeting.

This comes as a delegation of the US officials led by the US national security adviser Gen. Herbert McMaster also visited Afghanistan last month to review the situation of the country and meet with the top Afghan government officials.

LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/6410

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