War Deaths Top 13,000 in Afghan Security Forces --- KABUL, Afghanistan — More than 13,000 Afghan soldiers and police officers have been killed during the war here, far more than previously known, according to Afghan government statistics. -- Most of those losses occurred during the past three years as Afghan forces took over a growing share of the responsibility for security in the country, culminating in full Afghan authority last spring. -- The numbers also reflect an increased tempo to the conflict. More clashes have taken place as insurgents test the government forces, without as much fear of intervention from the American-led coalition as it prepares to withdraw. -- A statement released late Sunday by President Hamid Karzai’s cabinet, the Council of Ministers, put the total number of people in the Afghan security forces killed in the past 13 years at 13,729, with an additional 16,511 Afghan soldiers and police officers wounded. --- The Afghan death toll is four times higher than that of the international coalition, which has lost 3,425 soldiers — 2,313 of them Americans — during the 13-year conflict. --- The statement from the Council of Ministers also detailed payments of 1.3 billion afghanis, or about $23 million, in death benefits to soldiers’ families. It also said that 12,336 civilians had been killed in the conflict, and that 11,607 civilians had been wounded; those figures are in line with data compiled by the United Nations. The Afghan government, the statement said, had also paid 1.7 billion afghanis in death benefits to the families of civilian victims. - More, ROD NORDLAND, NYTimes, at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/04/world/asia/afghan-cabinet-releases-data-on-deaths-of-security-personnel.html?ref=asia