KABUL: Six Western soldiers, including three Americans, were killed Monday in Afghanistan, underscoring warnings that casualties will increase as more foreign troops stream into the country and step up efforts against the Taleban.

Despite the rise in violence, support among Afghans for the presence of foreign forces has increased. A poll released Monday found that nearly seven in 10 Afghans support the presence of US forces in their country, and 61 percent favor the military buildup. However, it said support for US and NATO forces dropped sharply in the south and east where the fighting is the most intense.

Monday was the deadliest day for the NATO-led international force in more than two months.

The Americans died in a firefight with militants during an “operational patrol” in southern Afghanistan, US military spokesman Col. Wayne Shanks said. He declined to provide the exact location of the clash or their branch of service pending notification of family members.

The deaths raised to at least 10 the number of US service members killed in Afghanistan so far this year, according to an Associated Press tally.

A French officer was killed during a joint patrol with Afghan troops in Alasay, a valley largely under insurgent control that NATO is trying to reclaim. Another French service member was seriously wounded in the attack 80 km northeast of Kabul. Eight French troops were in the patrol, said spokesman Col. Jacky Fouquereau.

NATO said another service member was killed in the clash but did not release the nationality. It said a sixth service member was killed by a roadside bomb in the south.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country has lost 37 troops in Afghanistan since 2001, condemned what he called “blind violence” and expressed his determination to keep forces in the country.

The previous deadliest day was Oct. 27 when eight US soldiers were killed. Seven CIA agents and a Jordanian intelligence officer also were killed by a suicide bomber on Dec. 30.

Despite the casualties, the commander of NATO troops in Afghanistan said Monday that the US troop surge had started to turn the tide against the Taleban. “We’ve been at this for about seven months now and I believe we’ve made progress,” Gen. Stanley McChrystal said in an interview with ABC television.

But he added: “It’s not a completed mission yet.”

The general recounted a recent meeting in the Helmand River Valley in the country’s south — a former Taleban stronghold — as an example of progress. “When I sit in an area that the Taleban controlled only seven months ago and now you meet with a shoura of elders, you sense the tide is turning,” he said.

Source. Arabnews