Kabul, Sept 25, SPA --Five American troops were killed in attacksin southern Afghanistan, where the U.S. and NATO haveramped up operations against the Taliban and seencasualties rise quickly in what has been the deadliest yearof the war for international forces, AP reported. Four soldiers died Thursday in the same small district ofZabul province, including three killed when their Strykervehicle struck a bomb, said U.S. military spokesman Lt. Robert Carr. The fourth was shot to death in an insurgentattack, Carr said. The Stryker brigade in Zabul is part ofthe influx of U.S. troops sent by President Barack Obamaover the summer to try to reverse Taliban gains. A U.S. Marine was fatally shot while on foot patrol inNimroz province and died Thursday, said Capt. ElizabethMathias, a military spokeswoman. The deaths come as the Obama administration debateswhether to send still more forces to Afghanistan. The Pentagon said the U.S. and NATO commander inAfghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, would ask this weekfor additional American forces _ a number that officialssaid could reach as high as 40,000 troops. Bombs planted in roads, fields and near bases now accountfor the majority of U.S. and NATO casualties and haveproven especially dangerous in the south, which is largelycontrolled by the Taliban. With the five deaths, a total of 34 U.S. forces have diedin Afghanistan in September. August, which was thedeadliest month of the war for American troops, saw 51deaths. --SPA www.spa.gov.sa/703100