KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -Afghan and NATO forces are ramping up security in Kandahar province to drive the Taliban from their spiritual homeland and bolster the Afghan central government's control across the country where there has been an uptick in violence. Authorities said Tuesday that 12 Afghan police officers and six civilians have died since early Monday in attacks across the nation. The civilians were killed in two attacks -- one a remote-controlled explosive that killed four people in Helmand province in the south, and the second a roadside bomb that killed two others in western Herat province, the Interior Ministry said. Five international coalition troops died Tuesday and an Afghan district official, his son and a body guard were assassinated in southern Afghanistan where the Taliban are targeting people loyal to the government and its foreign partners. (24 images)
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Sgt. Alex Cabana of the 2nd Combat Engineer Regiment of the Canadian Army (L) wades through a stream along with a soldier in the U.S. Army's 1-71 Cavalry during a foot patrol June 13, 2010 in rural Dand District, just south of Kandahar, Afghanistan. U.S. soldiers of the 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment of the 10th Mountain Division along with Canadian forces have fanned out in the vast hinterlands south of Kandahar, part of a counterinsurgency strategy aimed at protecting Afghan civilians and legitimizing the government of Afghanistan in the minds of the rural local populace. Getty Images / Chris Hondros
Staff Sgt. Kory Irish of Irving, New York serving with the U.S. Army's 1-17 Cavalry sorts through mail that had just arrived to his tent at Strongpoint Tarnak June 14, 2010 in rural Dand District, just south of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Getty Images / Chris Hondros
Sgt. David Guthrie of Grimes, Iowa serving with the U.S. Army's 1-17 Cavalry smiles as he reads a letter that had just arrived from his family at Strongpoint Tarnak on June 14, 2010 in rural Dand District, just south of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Getty Images / Chris Hondros
Sgt. David Guthrie of Grimes, Iowa serving with the U.S. Army's 1-17 Cavalry opens a package that had just arrived from his family at Strongpoint Tarnak on June 14, 2010 in rural Dand District, just south of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Getty Images / Chris Hondros
A Canadian Army soldier patrols the desert while a helicopter flies overhead on June 9, 2010 in the village of Zor Mashur, south of Kandahar, Afghanistan. American soldiers of the 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment of the 10th Mountain Division along with Canadian forces have fanned out in the vast area south of Kandahar. They are part of a counterinsurgency strategy aimed at protecting Afghan civilians and legitimizing the government of Afghanistan in the minds of the rural local populace. Getty Images / Chris Hondros
Spc. Carlos Rivera of Augusta, Georgia, with the 1-71 Cavalry sits as two curious Afghan children try to talk with him while on patrol June 9, 2010 in the village of Zor Mashur, south of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Getty Images / Chris Hondros
Capt. William Biggs (L) of St. Louis, Missouri with the U.S. Army's 1-71 Cavalry is assisted with his gear by a soldier before a patrol to question local villagers about their district governance June 11, 2010 in Dand District, just south of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Getty Images / Chris Hondros
Nakeeb, a 13-year-old Pashtun Afghan boy, watches American and Canadian soldiers as they patrol on June 9, 2010 in the village of Zor Mashur, south of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Getty Images / Chris Hondros
Local villager Lala Muhammad, 57, speaks with the U.S. Army's 1-71 Cavalry during a mission to question local villagers about their views on Dan District governance June 11, 2010 in Dand District, just south of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Muhammad lost vision in his right eye as a child. Getty Images / Chris Hondros
Two Pashtun village boys wade in a local irrigation canal June 11, 2010 in rural Dand District, just south of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Getty Images / Chris Hondros
Members of the Afghan National Army (ANA) nap during the intense midday heat at a ANA field base June 11, 2010 in Dand District, just south of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Getty Images / Chris Hondros
A soldier with the 1-71 Cavalry stretches before exercising at the Dand District government center where he is based June 10, 2010 in Dand District of Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. Getty Images / Chris Hondros
Soldiers with the 1-71 Cavalry sit and talk around a small light at the Dand District government center where they are based June 10, 2010 in Dand District of Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. Getty Images / Chris Hondros
A soldier in the U.S. Army's 1-71 Cavalry walks past a billboard encouraging girls to attend school June 11, 2010 in Dand District, just south of Kandahar, Afghanistan. NATO information operations erected the billboard and other similar ones in the area, encouraging local villagers to accept the NATO-supported Afghanistan central government. Getty Images / Chris Hondros
Lt. Michael Thompson of the 1-71 Cavalry eats breakfast before leading an early-morning foot patrol at Tarnac outpost June 13, 2010 in rural Dand District, just south of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Getty Images / Chris Hondros
An American soldier makes his way through a wheat field during a foot patrol June 13, 2010 in rural Dand District, just south of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Getty Images / Chris Hondros
A Pashtun shepard boy watches an element of the U.S. Army's 1-71 Cavalry as well as Canadian soldiers during a foot patrol June 13, 2010 in rural Dand District, just south of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Getty Images / Chris Hondros
A Pashtun farming boy holds his scythe as he takes a break from harvesting wheat in rural Dand District, just south of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Getty Images / Chris Hondros
A man stands on a road near flowers and drying furnaces for bricks June 14, 2010 in rural Dand District, just south of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Getty Images / Chris Hondros
A US Army soldier in the 1-71 Cavalry scans the eye of an Afghan National Police member for identification purposes with a handheld biometric device while another looks on June 14, 2010 in rural Dand District, just south of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Getty Images / Chris Hondros
Afghan National Police members, all recently graduated from a local police academy, stand by the door of a small police outpost June 14, 2010 in rural Dand District, just south of Kandahar, Afghanistan. President Obama's Afghanistan plan relies heavily on training local Afghans to take over policing duties. Getty Images / Chris Hondros
Afghan National Police members, recently graduated from a local police academy, stand outside a small police outpost June 14, 2010 in rural Dand District, just south of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Getty Images / Chris Hondros
A US Army soldier looks over a note containing Pashto translations of frequently-used phrases June 14, 2010 in rural Dand District, just south of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Getty Images / Chris Hondros
Staff Sgt. Stephen Robinson of Flint, Michigan in the 1-71 Cavalry stands by a doorway in a regional police outpost June 14, 2010 in rural Dand District, just south of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Getty Images / Chris Hondros
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