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The increase in attacks -- up nearly 40 percent in eastern provinces alone -- has caused concern among Pentagon officials, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

The data, revealed by Army Maj. Gen. Jeffrey J. Schloesser during a news conference Tuesday, covered the first five months of 2008 in an area of Afghanistan that Defense Department officials have cited as a success. The recently appointed U.S. commander in eastern Afghanistan said attacks in the region adjacent to lawless areas in Pakistan are also becoming more sophisticated.

So far this year, 50 U.S. personnel have died in combat in Afghanistan, compared with 28 killed through the end of June 2007, the report said.

Schloesser did not call for additional forces in his region, attributing the increase in attacks in part to more aggressive patrols by Afghan, U.S. and NATO troops in previously unpatrolled areas.

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