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Washington: US President George W. Bush says it has been a "tough month" in Afghanistan with rising US casualties.
The president told a Rose Garden news conference yesterday that one reason for the rising deaths "is that our troops are taking the fight to a tough enemy." Bush said it has also been a "tough month for the Taliban." He said he is assessing whether to send more US troops there.
The announcement came as a helicopter belonging to US-led coalition troops was shot down by small-arms fire south of Kabul yesterday, but there were no serious injuries to those on board, the US military said.
Afghanistan has seen a rise in violence this year, despite the increased presence of foreign troops, now numbering more than 70,000 and some Western politicians have recently warned the country may slip back into anarchy. The pilots landed the UH-60 Blackhawk safely and evacuated all personnel before it caught fire in Logar province, where Taliban militants are active.
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