KABUL, Afghanistan — A roadside bomb killed four American troops in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, driving the July death toll for U.S. forces to the highest monthly level of the war.
A NATO statement said the four soldiers were killed by an improvised explosive device in the east of the country but gave no further details.
The latest deaths brought to at least 30 the number of American service members who have died in Afghanistan this month — two more than the figure for all of June 2008, which had been the deadliest month for the U.S. since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion.
July’s death toll for the entire U.S.-led coalition, which includes American, British, Canadian and other forces, stands at 55 — well over the previous record of 46 deaths suffered in June and August of 2008.
U.S. commanders had predicted a bloody summer after President Barack Obama ordered 21,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan in a bid to turn the tide against a resurgent Taliban and shift the focus on the global war against Islamic extremism from Iraq.
With more troops, American and British forces have been striking deeper into Taliban strongholds in the south, hoping to establish enough security for Afghans to choose a president next month and cut insurgent supply lines into Pakistan.
British military authorities said Monday that bombing attacks in southern Afghanistan soared nearly 43 percent for the first five months of this year over the same period last year.
In Washington, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Monday that the size of the Army will be increased temporarily by 22,000 soldiers to help meet the needs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other missions around the world.
This is the second time since 2007 that the military has determined it doesn’t have a large enough force. Gates had already increased the size of the Army and Marine Corps shortly after taking the Pentagon job.
Gates noted that while progress in Iraq will lead to a reduction in the number of troops there, more troops are needed in Afghanistan because of the worsening violence in that conflict.
He said the persistent pace of operations in the two wars over several years has meant a steady increase in the number of troops who are wounded, stressed or otherwise unable to deploy with their units.
Also causing a shortage is the decision earlier this year to stop the unpopular practice of keeping troops beyond their enlistment dates, a practice known as “stop-loss.”
Back in Afghanistan, a British Tornado GR4 fighter jet crashed on takeoff Monday inside the Kandahar Airfield, but the two crewmen managed to eject safely, according to a NATO spokesman Capt. Ruben Hoornveld. British officials said the crash was not a result of hostile fire.
The crash occurred one day after a Russian-owned civilian Mi-8 helicopter slammed into the tarmac at the same base shortly after takeoff, killing 16 people on board. The Philippine government said 10 of them were Philippinos.
Two Americans died Saturday when their U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet crashed in central Afghanistan.
A U.S. helicopter made a “hard landing” the same day, injuring several soldiers. U.S. officials said neither incident was due to hostile fire.
Taliban militants shot down a Moldovan-owned Mi-6 transport helicopter last week in southern Afghanistan, killing six Ukrainian civilians on board and an Afghan child on the ground.
Earlier in July, two Canadian soldiers and one British trooper were killed in a helicopter crash in Zabul province. Officials said the crash did not appear to be caused by Taliban fire.
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