NATO Troops Killed, Convoy Torched in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan — Militants torched a convoy carrying military supplies just south of the Afghan capital yesterday and killed two NATO troops in the turbulent south and east. The attacks demonstrated the limited gains from the costly six-year effort to stabilize and bring security to Afghanistan, which is drawing in ever-larger numbers of NATO troops.

German defense officials said yesterday they plan to increase the number of their troops in Afghanistan by 1,000 this fall, pushing their continent to 4,500. There are now around 60,000 foreign troops in the country. The top American general in Afghanistan said yesterday that insurgent attacks have increased 40% this year over 2007 in the east of the country. In Washington, Major General Jeffrey Schloesser said there have been 40 deaths among uniformed and civilian coalition members in the east since the start of April.