Enlarge By Justin Sullivan, Getty Images U.S. Army soldiers carry a wounded American soldier to a U.S. Army helicopter on June 28 near Kandahar, Afghanistan. Coalition forces killed in Afghanistan topped 100 in June. WASHINGTON  Coalition forces killed in Afghanistan topped 100 in June, the war's highest monthly toll and approaching some of the deadliest months in the Iraq war The deaths of 102 servicemembers included a record 59 Americans. Nine of the 46 nations in the U.S.-led coalition suffered fatalities, the most countries to lose troops since the conflict began nearly nine years ago. The increase in deaths stems at least partly from an expansion in military operations against the Taliban, according to the Pentagon, and comes days after President Obama named Gen. David Petraeus as the war's new commander. Addressing the rise in fatalities, Petraeus, who directed the turnaround in the Iraq war, warned that violence could escalate as coalition forces attempted to push insurgents from former strongholds. "My sense is that the tough fighting will continue," he said at his Senate confirmation hearing, after which he was approved in a 99-0 vote. "It may get more intense in the next few months." DATABASE: American casualties in Iraq, Afghanistan, and beyond Already, U.S. forces have stepped up attacks as a surge of 30,000 troops ordered by Obama builds strength. The Pentagon says hundreds of Taliban militants have been killed or captured in battles in the eastern and southern portions of the country in recent weeks. The June death toll was also the most soldiers lost in battle by NATO nations other than the United States. The United Kingdom, where liberal members of Parliament have been demanding a withdrawal of forces, lost 20 soldiers. British Defense Minister Liam Fox, in Washington for talks with the U.S. military, said European coalition members must remain until al-Qaeda is no longer a threat in Afghanistan. "We must hold our nerve … and have the resilience to see the job through," he said. Stephen Flanagan, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said death statistics alone are not a good measure of how the war is going. "They're not an indicator of success or failure," he said. "It's not a war of attrition." Contributing: Paul Overberg Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more