June troop deaths in Afghanistan top 100

KABUL, Afghanistan, July 1 (UPI) -- The number of coalition forces killed in Afghanistan in June reached 102 -- the war's highest monthly toll, the U.S. military said.

The Pentagon said the increase in deaths was attributed in part to expanded military operations against the Taliban, USA Today reported Thursday.

The deaths included a record 59 U.S. troops, Pentagon statistics indicated.

Nine of the 46 nations in the U.S.-led international military intervention reported losses, the largest number of countries to report fatalities since the war began nearly nine years ago.

The statistics were released after President Obama nominated Gen. David Petraeus as the war's new ground commander.

"My sense is that the tough fighting will continue," Petraeus said during his Senate confirmation hearing before he was confirmed 99-0 by the full chamber earlier this week. "It may get more intense in the next few months."

The death toll for June also had the most troops killed in battle from NATO nations other than the United States, USA Today said. Britain, where liberal members of Parliament are calling for the withdrawal of the country's troops, lost 20 soldiers.

British Defense Minister Liam Fox said European coalition members must stay in Afghanistan until al-Qaida no longer poses a threat in that country.

"We must hold our nerve … and have the resilience to see the job through," he said.