WASHINGTON, June 24 (Xinhua) -- The number of insurgent attacks from January to May this year has increased 40 percent compared to the same period of last year, a U.S. military general said on Tuesday.

　　Army Maj. Gen. Jeffrey J. Schloesser, commander a U.S. anti-terrorism task force and part of the NATO coalition in the eastern Afghanistan, told reporters through a Pentagon satellite-carried news conference that fights between Taliban-led insurgents and foreign and Afghanistan government forces have risen each year since 2002 and there have been nearly 2,000 people killed in insurgency-related violence so far in 2008.

　　Since the start of April, a total of 40 deaths among uniformed and civilian foreign coalition members in the east part have been recorded, the causalities at the same rate as last year, he said.

　　Schloesser attributed the increase partly to more enemy attacks and more coalition forces going into the troubled areas.

　　Although the coalition forces is making progress in training the Afghan local forces and providing help to the Afghan government, Schloesser conceded that he is nowhere near able to say "we've reached irreversible momentum."

　　"I can't predict how long it's going to take (to make things improved). I can say that I believe we're making progress," he added.

　　Schloesser also said that senior U.S. and Pakistani military officials are working hard to improve communications and collaboration between their sides despite Pakistani criticism against U.S. troops for striking insurgent cells in the area near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, killing 11 Pakistani soldiers.

　　"I think both sides understand that the relative sanctuary that is achieved along that border area is damaging to both Afghanistan, as well as to Pakistan," he said. "And I think both sides understand that cannot continue."