5 NATO troops die in Afghanistan

Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan

Five NATO troops including one American died Tuesday, continuing a grim trend that could make June among the deadliest months of the nearly 9-year-old Afghan war.

Five Afghan policemen and a district governor also were killed Tuesday in separate fighting across the country, which has seen an uptick in attacks by insurgents in response to increased offensives by the international coalition.

U.S. officials insisted the Afghan campaign is on track, although they concede that pacifying the insurgent-riddled south will take longer than expected.

Three of the NATO deaths were British — two killed in separate gunfights in southern Helmand province and a third who died in a British hospital from injuries suffered in a firefight Sunday in Helmand, according to the British government.

The American service member was killed in a gunbattle in eastern Afghanistan, U.S. officials said, and a Polish soldier died in a rocket attack on a base in the eastern province of Ghazni, the Polish military said.

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