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10 French para's killed in Afghanistan |
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French NATO troops and Afghan forces fought fierce battles with insurgents near capital Kabul Tuesday, with heavy casualties reported to both sides, military officials said.
The clash started with an attack on an International Security Assistance Force patrol Monday in Sarobi district, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of Kabul, the ISAF media office said.
"We had a fight through the night and it is ongoing," an ISAF officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.
An ISAF statement said soldiers were involved in a "significant incident with insurgents" but it could not yet release details.
It did not give the nationalities of the ISAF soldiers but a Western military source said on condition of anonymity that French troops were involved.
The French military was meanwhile expected to make an announcement Tuesday.
An Afghan military officer said first reports were that 10 ISAF soldiers had been killed but this was not confirmed by the force or the French military.
Another 20 were reported to have been wounded, the officer said on condition of anonymity.
Afghan defence ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi would not comment on ISAF casualties.
He said however that 13 rebels including a Pakistani national had been killed.
"Thirteen bodies that the enemy left behind have been recovered but their casualties are much higher," Azimi said. Fourteen other rebels and two Afghan soldiers were wounded, he added.
A French military official in Paris told AFP late Monday that French troops were engaged in an operation in Afghanistan but did not give the location.
"An operation is ongoing which started Monday with French soldiers in Afghanistan," he said, asking not to be named.
Most of the 3,000 French troops in the 40-nation ISAF are in Kabul province, which includes Sarobi, and Kapisa province, northeast of the capital.
The insurgent Taliban movement claimed meanwhile that it had attacked ISAF troops in Sarobi and blown up several vehicles. "We have inflicted heavy casualties," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed told AFP.
The military had responded with air strikes that killed five Taliban and several civilians, he said. Taliban statements are not always accurate and the information could not be independently verified.
The governor of Sarobi district, Sayed Slaiman, also said there had been fighting but had few details. "We know that the enemy had casualties and they have left their dead bodies behind," he said, without being able to elaborate.
The Taliban were in government between 1996 and 2001 and are waging a deadly insurgency to take back power. Other extremist rebels are involved in the violence which has grown steadily every year.
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