By IRNA,
Kabul : More American and coalition troops died in Afghanistan last month than during any other month since the American-led invasion began in 2001.
IRNA reporter in Kabul said that it is the latest evidence of a strengthening Taliban insurgency that has menaced NATO forces and reclaimed control over some southern and eastern parts of the country.
The violence in Afghanistan has surged at the same time as the number of attacks and American deaths in Iraq have fallen.
Among the American-led forces in the two countries, 46 service members were killed in Afghanistan, compared with 31 in Iraq, the second straight month in which combat deaths in Afghanistan exceeded those in Iraq.
A recent Pentagon report about Afghanistan painted a stark picture of security conditions inside the country, a militant force that had “coalesced into a resilient insurgency” and a central government in Kabul that still could not extend its reach into the hinterlands.
An American commander, Major General Jeffrey Schloesser, has said that militant attacks on coalition troops increased by 40 percent from January to May compared with the same period last year.
The violence has spiked even as the number of foreign troops in Afghanistan approaches its highest level since 2001.
Roughly 32,000 American troops are deployed inside the country, up from 25,000 in 2005. The Pentagon is now considering sending an additional 7,000 troops to help tamp down the worsening violence.
The American-led coalition also includes about 38,000 troops from dozens of other countries who are operating under NATO leadership.