NATO Afghanistan war fatalities surpass the 2,000 mark

The Afghanistan war has now claimed the lives of over 2,000 coalition soldiers after a number of troop deaths were reported Friday and Saturday.

NATO forces in Afghanistan reached another bloody milestone Friday as the organization's 9-year long campaign against the ousted Taliban militia continued towards an unclear future. According to iCasualties.org, a group that tabulates coalition casualties in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, the death toll now stands at 2002. The figure includes 1226 Americans and 331 British with the remaining 445 fatalities coming from other coalition partners consisting mostly of European nations including Canadian, Danish, German and French forces. According to the AP, two British servicemen died Friday in separate incidents bringing the death toll for the UK to 331. The British currently maintain a contingent of 9,500 troops in Afghanistan. The AFP also reports that an Australian commando also perished Saturday in a shooting incident in the north of the country, the seventh this year and 18th overall for Australia. The escalating conflict has seen an increase in casualties on all sides including those of Afghan civilians who find themselves caught up in the fighting. According to the U.N, Afghans civilian deaths have increased by a whopping 31%, a trend blamed on increased insurgent activity. "The human cost of this conflict is unfortunately rising" said Staffan de Mistura, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of UNAMA. Civilian casualties figures for the first half of 2010 are reported to total 3,268 which include 1,271 deaths and 1,997 injuries.