Attackers armed with suicide vests and assault rifles killed six U.N. workers at a guest house in Kabul in an early-morning attack on Wednesday. Six others were killed. Only a day earlier, eight U.S. troops and an Afghan civilian died in two roadside bombings, making October the deadliest month of the eight-year war for U.S. forces with at least 53 deaths. The escalating violence comes less than two weeks before Afghanistan's presidential run-off election, and as Gen. Stanley McChrystal is trying to convince President Obama to send a reported 40,000 additional troops to the region. Two months ago, before the initial round of voting in the presidential election, violence also increased; July and August were previously the deadliest months for American forces, with 45 and 51 deaths respectively.
