Afghanistan Insurgent Attacks up in 2008

I received the charts below from Sami Kovanen, a Finnish security specialist in Kabul.

The first compares the total number of "security incidents" originated by Taliban/anti-government elements (TB/AGE) in Afghanistan for the first 13 weeks of 2008 compared to the first 13 weeks of 2007:

The second chart compares the total number of incidents during these 13 weeks in both years, broken down by region (Central Highlands, Eastern Region, Southeast Region, Southern Region, Western Region, Northeast Region, Northern Region, and Central Region).

Incidents in 2008 are almost 40 percent more numerous than in 2007. Except for the Central Highlands Region, where the number of incidents is negligible, the largest proportionate increase is in the Central Region, which includes Kabul, Wardak, Logar, and Parwan, where incidents have increased by 70 percent. I have been told that incidents in Wardak have declined recently, since a commander of Hizb-i Islami was appointed as police chief, and he hired all of his old mujahidin. Further details or corrections welcome.

No last throes yet.