Kabul , Afghanistan ( CNN ) -- The human cost of the Afghan conflict is escalating , with killings and attacks on children by the Taliban and other insurgent groups soaring , the United Nations said in a report released Tuesday . `` Afghan children and women are increasingly bearing the brunt of this conflict , '' says Staffan de Mistura , special representative of the U.N. secretary-general . `` They are being killed and injured in their homes and communities in greater numbers than ever before . '' According to the United Nations ' 2010 Mid-Year Report on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict , in the first six months of this year , 55 percent more children were killed or wounded by the Taliban and other anti-government groups than in the same period in 2009 . The number of women killed or wounded by the Taliban and other insurgents increased by six percent . The report says casualties caused by pro-government forces , including the International Security Assistance Force ( ISAF ) and Afghan security forces , fell 30 percent in the first six months of 2010 . From January 1 to June 30 , 2010 , the UNAMA Human Rights Unit documented a total of 3,268 civilian casualties , including 1,271 deaths and 1,997 injuries . Anti-government forces were responsible for 2,477 casualties . That is 76 percent of all casualties , up 53 percent from 2009 . Pro-government forces were responsible for 386 civilian casualties , 12 percent of all casualties , down from 30 percent in 2009 . The United Nations notes two lethal developments : Insurgents , it says , are using more improvised explosive devices ( IEDs ) throughout the country and are assassinating and executing more civilians . IEDs alone accounted for 29 percent of all civilian deaths in the period , including 74 children , a 155-percent surge from the same span last year . Assassinations and executions , meanwhile , soared by more than 95 percent and included the public executions of children . Aerial attacks are the most harmful tactic used by ISAF forces , causing 69 of the 223 civilian deaths attributed to pro-government forces in the first six months of 2010 -- a total of 31 percent -- and injuring 45 Afghan civilians . However , civilian deaths caused by aerial attacks decreased 64 percent from the same period in 2009 , according to the report . The United Nations says this reflects greater implementation of an ISAF tactical directive from July 2009 on regulating the use of airstrikes and other measures to reduce civilian casualties . ISAF , in a statement , said the new U.N. report is consistent with figures tracked by ISAF headquarters . It quoted Gen. David Petraeus 's new tactical directive , in which he says , `` We must continue our emphasis on reducing the loss of innocent civilian life to an absolute minimum . `` Every Afghan death diminishes our cause . While we have made progress in our efforts to reduce coalition-caused civilian casualties , we know the measure by which our mission will be judged is protecting the population from harm by either side . We will redouble our efforts to prevent insurgents from harming their neighbors . ''
New U.N. report says killings and violence in Afghanistan are soaring . Children and women are taking the brunt of the attacks , the report says . The Taliban is responsible for the most attacks . Pro - government forces are also to blame , the report says .