Masked Taliban militants are seen posing at a defensive position at a undisclosed in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, on Saturday, July 12, 2008. More than 2,300 people _ mostly militants _ have died in insurgency-related violence this year, according to an Associated Press tally of official figures. U.S. troops on Monday reinforced a remote military outpost after well-armed militants got inside and killed nine American soldiers in the deadliest assault on U.S. forces in Afghanistan in three years. Attacks in eastern Afghanistan are up 40 percent this year compared with last year. (AP Photo/Rahmatullah Naikzad)
