Taliban kill 10 French troops in Afghanistan

By Sayed Salahuddin

KABUL (Reuters) - Taliban insurgents killed 10 French soldiers and wounded 21 in a major battle in Afghanistan, the French president's office said on Tuesday, the biggest single loss of foreign troops in combat there since 2001.

The Taliban have gradually closed in on Kabul in the past year, making travel south, west or east of the capital extremely hazardous for troops, aid workers and civilians and spreading fear among the population.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is to travel to Afghanistan on Tuesday in response to the attack, his office said.

"My determination is intact. France is determined to continue the struggle against terrorism for democracy and freedom. The cause is just," Sarkozy said in the statement.

The French soldiers were killed in a major battle that erupted when Taliban fighters ambushed their reconnaissance patrol from three sides in mountainous country in the Sarobi district, about 60 km (40 miles) east of Kabul on Monday.

Nine were killed immediately when the lead section of the patrol dismounted from their vehicles at around 1:30 p.m. (0900 GMT) to reconnoiter on foot. A 10th died later when the vehicle he was in overturned.

The battle that ensued lasted deep into the night and the mixed French, Afghan and U.S. force summoned reinforcements and air support, General Jean-Louis Georgelin, chief of the army general staff, told a news conference in Paris.

A "large number" of insurgents were killed in the fighting, NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.

France has 2,600 troops in Afghanistan, after Sarkozy sent an extra 700 soldiers this year in response to a U.S. call for NATO allies to provide more forces to check a surge in violence.

The deaths brought to 24 the number of French troops killed in Afghanistan since U.S.-led and Afghan forces ousted the Taliban in 2001 for refusing to give up al Qaeda leaders behind the September 11 attacks.

The 10 dead and 21 wounded soldiers were from the 8th Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment, the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment and the Regiment de marche du Tchad, a mechanized marine unit.

The Afghan Defence Ministry said 27 insurgents were killed or wounded in the fighting and at least two Afghan soldiers were wounded.

The Taliban Web site said 20 U.S. soldiers had been killed in the fighting, which they said started after militants ambushed a convoy of Afghan and foreign forces late on Monday. The insurgents commonly refer to all foreign troops as American.

TALIBAN CLOSING IN

The Taliban have stepped up attacks in provinces bordering the Afghan capital over the past year, closing in from the volatile south and east, where the bulk of the fighting has occurred since militants relaunched their insurgency in 2005.