Insurgent attacks on U.S. and international troops in Afghanistan, as well as the civilian populace, continue to rise, according to a July 8 Pentagon report to Congress. “Insurgent-initiated attacks [during the first half of 2009] were 57 percent higher than during the same period the previous year,” stated the report, which also noted that the 67 U.S. service members who were killed in combat in Afghanistan represent a 24-percent increase from 2007-2008. Some of the upswing can be attributed to shortfalls in NATO personnel and materiel, according to the report. Meanwhile, the report stated, Afghan forces gradually continue to assume more of a role in securing their country.