Nato drops more bombs - but fewer civilians die

NATO aircraft have used 4,615 bombs and Hellfire missiles in Afghanistan so far this year, already exceeding the 4,184 dropped in all of 2009, new figures show.

Coalition aircraft dropped 1,000 bombs and missiles in October, one of the highest monthly totals of the nine-year-old war. Despite large increases in sorties and weapons fired, the number of civilians killed in air operations is slightly down this year - 59 compared with 62 last year. Nato officials say this is because of coalition restrictions on engaging insurgents.

"We're seeing about a 20 per cent increase in sorties over last year," Colonel James Sturgeon, chief of the air operations control centre in Kabul, said yesterday. "In the last couple of weeks, it's dropping off a little bit as we get into the winter months."

Afghan president Hamid Karzai has repeatedly called on Nato to do more to protect civilians. In response, former Nato commander General Stanley McChrystal severely limited the circumstances in which troops could call in an air strike or fire into buildings where civilians might be inside.

The revised rules never prevented troops from calling in air support, but some officers were exerting excessive caution, fearing career damage if civilians were mistakenly killed. Analysts said the rules were being implemented unevenly.

When General David Petraeus took over command in July, he emphasised that officers in the field should not add restrictions to the rules.

"We have seen a little bit of loosening of the reins, but in terms of making sure there are no civilians in an area where we want to strike offensively, it's a very disciplined process," Col Sturgeon said.