The number of insurgent attacks in southern Afghanistan has halved in the past month and the incidents that have occurred have been less ferocious than previously, the NATO-led force said on Sunday. But the Taliban are still a dangerous threat with their use of suicide and improvised bombings likely to increase even further, NATO spokesman Mark Laity told reporters. "At the beginning of September there was intense fighting throughout the south. At the end of this month fighting is much reduced." "Last week the number of incidents was a half. So there we have the actual evidence that in one month the number of incidents has halved in the south," he said. He said the movement of insurgents across the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan had been a problem for security forces.