For the second month in a row, more U.S. and NATO troops have died in Afghanistan than in Iraq.

Western news agencies say that in June, at least 45 foreign troops died in Afghanistan and 31 died in Iraq.  The trend was similar in May.

June has been the deadliest month for foreign forces in Afghanistan since the U.S.-led invasion pushed the Taliban from power in 2001.

NATO's civilian spokesman in Afghanistan, Mark Laity, tells VOA Dari service the death toll there can not be compared to Iraq. He says the countries are facing different situations.

Laity says insurgent attacks normally increase in Afghanistan during the summer months, and that more deaths likely have happened because NATO forces have intensified their operations.

There are more than twice as many foreign troops in Iraq than in Afghanistan.

At least 872 foreign troops have died in Afghanistan since 2001.

The five-year-old war in Iraq has claimed the lives of more than four-thousand foreign soldiers, most of them from the United States.  

Tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians and security force members have been killed during the conflict.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.