URGENT - Afghanistan Civilian Casualties

(CNN) -- Civilian casualties in Afghanistan dropped 12% in 2012 -- the first time those figures have fallen in six years, a U.N. report said Tuesday. The report by the U.N. Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) credits the decline to fewer suicide bombings, a decline in aerial attacks, less ground fighting between pro-government and militant forces, and care taken by those pro-government forces to minimize harm to civilians.