NATO Afghanistan commander concerned about north and west

By Andrew Gray

KABUL (Reuters) - NATO's commander in Afghanistan voiced concern on Wednesday about growing instability in the west and north of the country, even as U.S. and allied forces crack down on insurgents in their southern heartland.

U.S. Army General Stanley McChrystal spoke after the death toll for foreign troops in Afghanistan halfway through July reached 46 -- already equaling the highest for any month of the eight-year-old war.

The United States has poured more troops into Afghanistan and is seeking to drive the Taliban out of strongholds in the southern province of Helmand.

McChrystal said he could not predict how long casualties would remain at the current level.

"Until we hit the point where the insurgent fighters decide that they cannot force us out or cannot discourage us, then I think they're likely to stay significant," he said after meeting with Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.

NATO's current operations are heavily focused on eastern and southern Afghanistan, where the insurgent violence has been highest in recent years.

But McChrystal, who took command in mid-June with a brief to shake up a faltering allied war effort, said he had been alarmed by pockets of insurgent strength in other parts of the country.

"I am worried about the north and the west," McChrystal told a small group of reporters traveling with Mullen.