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Attacks from the inside have increasingly become more of a problem. In 2012, 33 attacks resulted in 42 coalition deaths, mostly Americans. In 2011, 21 attacks resulted in 35 deaths and in 2010, 11 attacks caused 20 deaths (Vogt). .
US Marines have fought against the Taliban for years in Musa Qala, although they have recently started reducing the number of troops located there. Almost 103,000 soldiers were posted in Musa Qala last year, but the plan is to reduce that number to 68,000 by the end of October. Despite their constant presence, the Marines have not been able to gain significant hold of the district against the Taliban, and the insurgents still hold a large majority of the power in that area. As the Marines gain control in pockets of the district, they hand it back to the Afghan government. However, as the troops slowly begin pulling out, Afghan forces fear that the Taliban will quickly regain control and impose strict Islamic law on the district, which excludes music and film, and prohibits women from leaving their homes without a male relative escort (Vogt).
Afghan President Hamid Karzai released a statement condemning the killings as against Shariah law, although he did not specify any action that the government troops would take. "The killing of innocent civilians by Taliban is an unforgivable crime," he said (Vogt). .
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi rebutted with a statement of their own. "No Taliban have killed any civilians. Neither were Taliban commanders fighting each other. We don't know about this thing. Whether it happened or not, we were not involved," Ahmadi said. He added that the Taliban does not target Afghan civilians, and if Taliban members were responsible for the shootings then a separate pocket has fractured off from the insurgency (Vogt).
The Taliban leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, often releases statements to his soldiers telling them to "employ tactics that do not cause harm to the life and property of the common countrymen.
