US President George W. Bush points during a statement about his upcoming trip to Japan for the G8 summit, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, July 2, 2008.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

US President George W. Bush acknowledged the challenge facing the US military in Afghanistan Wednesday, saying June is a "tough month" there.

Speaking at a White House news conference, Bush said the rising US casualties in Afghanistan can be attributed to the fact "that our troops are taking the fight to a tough enemy."

He also said June was "tough for the Taliban", too, since US and coalition forces launched more attacks against the insurgents there.

Twenty-eight US troops were killed in Afghanistan in June, making it the deadliest month for US troops in Afghanistan since the war there began in late 2001,

The total nearly equaled the 29 US troop deaths last month in Iraq, where violence has abated in the wake of the buildup of US forces that began in 2007.

US officials said the spike in troop deaths in Afghanistan should not be the only measure of the growing conflict in Afghanistan, but they also acknowledged that the Taliban's persistent attacks have frustrated US and international efforts to help the Afghan government secure the country.

(Xinhua News Agency July 3, 2008)