Taliban leaders are being killed in droves, according to new statistics that suggest a NATO troop surge in Afghanistan is working.
US-led forces have killed so many Taliban commanders in the last three months that their average age has been pushed down from 35 to 25.
About 339 mid-level Taliban commanders and 949 soldiers have died in the recent fighting, -- a strategy that is driving militants toward the negotiating table, US officials claim.
Critics suggest the US anti-insurgent strategy could backfire.
"We may be killing off tired older commanders who are willing to negotiate and replacing them with younger, more embittered ones," said David Kilcullen, a counterinsurgency expert.
News of the heightened Taliban death rate comes as President Obama is preparing for a NATO summit this week where he's expected to try to convince allies to keep their troops in the war-torn country until 2014.
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/taliban_dying_young_j2y17jXgisDDcmgaAvHjFM#ixzz15K6ozbRS
Taliban leaders being killed in droves - NYPOST.com
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