Pentagon: Afghan Violence Soars, Insurgency Expanding

Security forces taking positions during clashes with Taliban fighters near the National Consultive Peace Jirga in Kabul on June 2.

The Pentagon says in a new report that violence in Afghanistan has hit an all-time high in recent months and that the insurgency there is increasingly sophisticated.

The report also charges that Iran continues to provide weapons and training to the Taliban, and says their safe havens along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border remain an obstacle even as Pakistani military cooperation with NATO improves.

The Pentagon says that while the Afghan government is making some effort to combat corruption, there is a "questionable" commitment to ending corruption at official levels.

compiled from agency reports