Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS
Last updated on: November 23, 2010 08:30 IST
The NATO says it could halt its Afghan combat operations in 2014 if security conditions were good enough.
However, civilian casualties have been at their highest in 2010 since the start of the US-led invasion to oust the hardline Taliban from power in late 2001.
The United Nations said in August that 1,271 Afghan civilians were killed in the first six months of the year, a rise of one third over the same period in 2009, mostly in insurgent attacks.
To see some glimpses of the Afghan war over the decade in PHOTOS click NEXT
Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS
Last updated on: November 23, 2010 08:30 IST
A wounded Canadian soldier from the NATO-led coalition crawls for cover seconds after his position was hit by a Taliban shell fired from an 82-millimeter recoilless rifle during an ambush in Zhari district, October 23, 2007.
Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS
Last updated on: November 23, 2010 08:30 IST
US Marines from Charlie 1/1 of the 15th MEU (Marine Expeditionary Unit) fill sand bags around their light mortar position on the front lines in southern Afghanistan, December 1, 2001
Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS
Last updated on: November 23, 2010 08:30 IST
A young amputee boy walks through the Eidgah mosque in Kabul, December 8, 2001.
Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS
Last updated on: November 23, 2010 08:30 IST
A NATO soldier smokes during a lull in fighting against Taliban insurgents in Sangasar, Zari district, July 3, 2007.
Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS
Last updated on: November 23, 2010 08:30 IST
A defused mortar head is planted during a mine and unexploded ordnances awareness class for school boys in Qarabagh district, north of Kabul, November 20, 2007.
Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS
Last updated on: November 23, 2010 08:30 IST
An Afghan National Policeman returns to his base after a firefight in Kolk in Zhari district, November 15, 2007
Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS
Last updated on: November 23, 2010 08:30 IST
A French sniper looks through his rifle's scope while keeping watch over Qarabagh district, north of Kabul, November 20, 2007
Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS
Last updated on: November 23, 2010 08:30 IST
A NATO soldier rests on the muzzle of his rifle as he sleeps while riding in an armored vehicle in Kandahar province, November 16, 2007
Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS
Last updated on: November 23, 2010 08:30 IST
NATO soldiers detain an Afghan man in front of their base after the Taliban fired a rocket and killed an Afghan truck driver, west of Kandahar in Zahri district, October 22, 2007
Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS
Last updated on: November 23, 2010 08:30 IST
A dust-covered Afghan National Army soldier with a flower tucked behind his ear rides on the back of a vehicle during a patrol near Panjwaii town, November 13, 2007
Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS
Last updated on: November 23, 2010 08:30 IST
Afghan policemen stand next to a captured Taliban fighter after a gun battle near the village of Shajoy in Zabol province, March 22, 2008
Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS
Last updated on: November 23, 2010 08:30 IST
Sgt William Olas Bee, a US Marine from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, has a close call after Taliban fighters open fire near Garmsir in Helmand Province, May 18, 2008
Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS
Last updated on: November 23, 2010 08:30 IST
An iPod music player attached to the tactical vest of a U.S. soldier of 3rd Platoon from the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division as he drives to the site of a roadside bomb explosion in the mountains of Wardak Province, July 11, 2009
Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS
Last updated on: November 23, 2010 08:30 IST
Afghan soldiers' boots with holes are left by a wall while the soldiers take a shower in Kabul, August 17, 2009.
Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS
Last updated on: November 23, 2010 08:30 IST
Soldiers from the US Army's Alpha Battery, 425 Field Artillery, 3rd brigade of 10th Mountain Division based in Fort Drum, New York, fire their 155 mm Howitzer in Cop Cherokee base in Logar province, October 4, 2009
Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS
Last updated on: November 23, 2010 08:30 IST
Afghan men wait to be searched at a checkpoint at Delaram district in Nimroz province, January 21, 2010
Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS
Last updated on: November 23, 2010 08:30 IST
Soldiers from the US Army's 3-17 Field Artillery, 5-2ID Striker Brigade Combat Team fire a 155mm Howitzer at night from Forward Operating Base Ramrod in Kandahar Province, April 13, 2010
Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS
Last updated on: November 23, 2010 08:30 IST
US Marine Lance Corporal Chris Sanderson, 24, from Flemington, New Jersey, shouts as he tries to protect an Afghan man and his child after Taliban fighters opened fire in the town of Marjah, in Nad Ali district, Helmand province, February 13, 2010
Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS
Last updated on: November 23, 2010 08:30 IST
US President Barack Obama meets with troops at Bagram Air Base in Kabul, March 28, 2010
Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS
Last updated on: November 23, 2010 08:30 IST
A US Army soldier with 508th Special Troops Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division, walks inside a cell for detainees at a local police station outside the town of Kandahar, March 25, 2010
Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS
Last updated on: November 23, 2010 08:30 IST
An Afghan Army soldier takes part in a joint patrol with US Army soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division in the village of Kuhak in Arghandab District, north of Kandahar, July 7, 2010
Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS
Last updated on: November 23, 2010 08:30 IST
Afghan National Army soldiers carry explosives during preparations to destroy more than 1500kg (3307 lbs) of ammonium nitrate fertiliser, which is used in making bombs, outside Kabul, April 21, 2010
Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS
Last updated on: November 23, 2010 08:30 IST
A group of men detained for suspected Taliban activities are held for questioning at a schoolhouse in the village of Kuhak in Arghandab District, north of Kandahar, July 9, 2010
Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS
Last updated on: November 23, 2010 08:30 IST
A worker waits as goods are unloaded from his vehicle next to a street in Kabul, September 17, 2010
Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS
Last updated on: November 23, 2010 08:30 IST
Two Northern Alliance soldiers watch as dust and smoke rise after explosions hit Taliban positions on Kalakata hill, near the village of Ai-Khanum in northern Afghanistan, November 1, 2001
Afghanistan war: A decade in PHOTOS
Last updated on: November 23, 2010 08:30 IST
An Afghan girl watches through a bus window as Afghan National Army troops and NATO soldiers conduct a foot patrol through the main market in the Taliban stronghold of Panjwaii town, Kandahar province, October 16, 2007
