A 31-year-old Schofield Barracks soldier was killed in Afghanistan yesterday by insurgents who attacked his military police unit.

The Pentagon identified the soldier as Spc. Andrew C. Wilfahrt, of Rosemount, Minn. He was killed in Kandahar province by a homemade bomb.

He was assigned to the 504th Military Police Battalion, which is part of the 8th Military Police Brigade at Schofield Barracks.

Four NATO service members, including a 37-year-old Italian lieutenant, were killed across Afghanistan on Monday by roadside bombs and an insurgent attack, the coalition said. 

Fighting accelerated between Taliban insurgents and coalition and Afghan forces last year after 30,000 U.S. reinforcements finished arriving in Afghanistan in the summer.

The NATO forces are pushing hard to rout insurgents from their strongholds in the south and east and improve security so the Afghan government and international community can bolster governance and development work.

The latest deaths bring to 34 the number of NATO service members killed this month, after 31 were killed in January.

Last year was the deadliest of the 9-year-old Afghan war for the international forces, with 701 killed.

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The Associated Press contributed to this story.