The United Nations has revealed the number of civilians killed in Afghanistan has soared by 60 percent in the first half of the year. Nearly 700 civilians have been killed since January. John Holmes of the United Nations said the majority were killed by the Taliban or other militant groups, but a significant number were killed by international forces. This comes as the Pentagon is predicting Taliban attacks and bombings will continue to increase because the Taliban has “coalesced into a resilient insurgency.” Fighting has also intensified across the border in Pakistan, where Pakistani forces have begun a third day of assaults on suspected Taliban sites. It marks the first major Pakistani offensive against Taliban fighters in the Khyber tribal region.