Taliban Kill 10 French Soldiers In Afghanistan; Attack U.S. Base

August 19, 2008 9:34 p.m. EST

Kabul, Afghanistan (AHN) - Taliban insurgents killed 10 French soldiers from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) during an ambush and tried to attack a U.S. military base in Afghanistan Tuesday.

Twenty-one French soldiers were also wounded in the fighting that followed Monday night's ambush by 100 Taliban extremists on a patrol of French and Afghan troops in the district of Sarobi, 30 miles east of the capital Kabul.

At least 13 Taliban fighters were killed during fierce fighting throughout the night, said Afghan defense ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi, according to Agence France-Presse.

In Khost, a town 19 miles from the border with Pakistan, ISAF and Afghan forces engaged 30 Taliban fighters and suicide bombers seen near Camp Salerno and prevented them from coming within 1,000 yards of the camp. ISAF helicopters fired on fleeing rebels killing 13 insurgents, including six suicide bombers.