12,000 Deaths in Afghan War, Soviets Say
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MOSCOW — A Soviet media official today confirmed that 12,000 to 15,000 Soviet soldiers died in Afghanistan during the Kremlin’s more than eight years of military involvement in that country’s civil war.
Eduard Rosental, a political observer for the government news agency Novosti, confirmed a recent report by the Paris-based Agence France-Presse news service that 12,000 to 15,000 Soviets had been killed in Afghanistan.
Rosental’s comment during a news conference to discuss Afghanistan’s history was believed to be the first time a Soviet official has approximated the death toll from the Soviet intervention.
The Kremlin sent troops and tanks in December, 1979, to help the allied Kabul government fight U.S.-backed Muslim rebels.
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