SAN DIEGO -- Assaults against U.S. Border Patrol agents in the San Diego area have increased 358 percent in this federal fiscal year as compared with the same period in 2006, an agency official said Tuesday.

Between Oct. 1 and Sunday, Border Patrol personnel in the region came under 110 attacks, according to a Border Patrol statement. Last year, 24 such incidents occurred over the comparable time span, officials said.

Along the length of the U.S.-Mexico border, 250 assaults have occurred this fiscal year, compared to 181 for the same period in 2006 -- a 38 percent increase, according to Border Patrol public affairs.

The attacks on border officers by smugglers, drug-runners and other criminals have come in the form of rocks, gunfire, Molotov cocktails and vehicles, authorities said.

The situation as it has evolved "is no longer about illegal immigration or narcotics trafficking," Border Patrol Chief David Aguilar said.

"It is about criminals and smuggling organizations fighting our agents with lethal force to take over a part of American territory so that they can conduct criminal activity," Aguilar said.

In response, the Border Patrol has implemented various measures, including such less-lethal compliance tools as collapsible steel batons, caustic spray and pepper-ball launching systems.