War developments

Iraq

At least 447 Iraqi civilians were killed in June, double the toll from the previous month, according to an Associated Press tally, as insurgents took aim at crowded areas to maximize casualties and pressure Iraqi security forces as U.S. combat troops withdraw from the cities. The numbers are still far lower than previous years, and the bombings by suspected Sunni extremists are not triggering retaliatory attacks from Shiite militias. The number of American troop deaths, meanwhile, dropped to 15 in June after an eight-month high of 25 in May.

Afghanistan

NATO said an explosion Wednesday in southern Afghanistan killed two of its troops and wounded six others. The military alliance did not reveal the troops’ nationalities or the exact location of the blast.

Pakistan

The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday took action against four Pakistani men suspected of providing support to the terror groups al-Qaida and Lashkar-e Tayyiba in their country and being involved in the July 2006 train bombing in Mumbai, India. The department ordered banks to freeze any financial assets found in this country that belong to the men —- Fazell A-Tul Shaykh Abu Mohammed Ameen Al-Peshawari; Arif Qasmani; Mohammed Yahya Mujahid; and Nasir Javaid.