Afghanistan ? Attacks on U.S. contractors, construction companies and aid organizations have been rising just as the U.S. pushes faster development of Afghanistan as a priority in its strategy to counter the insurgency.

The number of contractor attacks is elusive since the workers are from a number of different organizations, but the toll has jumped since President Barack Obama launched a troop surge last December.

Of the 289 civilians working for U.S. contractors killed between the start of the Afghanistan war in 2001 and the end of last year, 100 died in just the last six months of 2009, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service.