(AKI) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced plans to leave for Afghanistan on Tuesday after 10 French soldiers were killed in fierce conflict with the Taliban overnight. The attack, which left another 21 French troops wounded, took place on Monday night, 60 kilometres east of the capital, Kabul. Around 100 insurgents attacked a patrol containing French and Afghan troops, said NATO's International Security Assistance Force.
In a statement released by the president's office on Tuesday, Sarkozy said he wanted to reassure the troops that France was behind them. He also pledged to maintain support for the multinational force in Afghanistan. "France is committed to continue its fight in the war against terrorism, for democracy and freedom," he said.
The French troop fatalities were the heaviest suffered by the French military since 58 paratroopers were killed in Beirut in 1983. Most of the 3,000 French troops in the multinational International Security Assistance Force are in Kabul province which includes the district of Sarobi.