Washington: Attacks by Taliban militants on Afghanistan's border with Pakistan were up 40 per cent in the first five months of 2008 compared with the same period last year, the US commander in the region told reporters here today.

"We've had about a 40 per cent increase in kinetic events : we define those as the number of enemy attacks that we've had on our coalition and our Afghan partners," US Army Major General Jeffrey Schloesser told reporters during a teleconference from Afghanistan.

"This number was not unexpected," he continued, adding that the frequency of attacks has increased each year since 2002.

"The enemies are aggressively burning schools, killing teachers and students," said Schloesser, adding that attacks in the region represent "about 12 per cent" of military engagements against the Taliban.

The volatile situation on the porous 2,500-kilometre Pakistan-Afghanistan border was highlighted when Islamabad accused US-led coalition forces of a "cowardly" act in carrying out an air strike earlier this month that killed 11 Pakistani soldiers.

Washington and other Western allies have been pressuring Islamabad to crack down on Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants allegedly based in Pakistan s tribal belt bordering Afghanistan.

"The enemy is taking refuge and operating with some freedom of movement in the border region," Schloesser said.

"Overall, what you see is the deliberate targeting of anything that will improve the quality of life of the normal Afghan citizen."

Source : PTI