Friends and family members watch the casket of Staff Sgt. Vernon Martin being loaded into a hearse o
Enlarge Stephen Morton/Getty Images

Staff Sgt. Vernon Martin died Oct. 3.

Friends and family members watch the casket of Staff Sgt. Vernon Martin being loaded into a hearse o
Stephen Morton/Getty Images

Staff Sgt. Vernon Martin died Oct. 3.

Eight more American service personnel were killed in Afghanistan yesterday, the U.S. military says. According to the Associated Press, that brings the number of such deaths this month to 55 — making October the deadliest month for U.S. forces since they entered Afghanistan eight years ago. Previously, the worst month had been this past August, when 51 U.S. service personnel were killed in Afghanistan.

On Morning Edition, NPR's Bruce Auster kicked off the first in a series of reports about efforts to defeat the toughest weapon being used against U.S. forces in Afghanistan — improvised explosive devices:

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