The United Nations says civilian deaths related to the conflict in Afghanistan have spiked in 2010 and that insurgents are responsible for the increase and the overwhelming majority of the killings.

The U.N.'s Assistance Mission in Afghanistan also said on Wednesday that killings attributed to the U.S. led-coalition dropped by more than a quarter compared to 2009.

UNAMA's annual report registered 2,777 conflict-related civilian deaths in 2010, a 15 percent increase from 2009.

The report says that of those deaths, insurgents were responsible for 2,080, which is a 28 percent increase and 75 percent of the total deaths. Killings attributed to the coalition dropped to 440 people, or 16 percent of the total.

UNAMA could not attribute nine percent of the deaths.