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Four French troops die in Afghanistan shooting | Four French troops die in Afghanistan shooting |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Four French troops have been killed in northern Afghanistan after a soldier from the Afghan National Army opened fire, local officials say. | Four French troops have been killed in northern Afghanistan after a soldier from the Afghan National Army opened fire, local officials say. |
Sixteen more members of the French armed forces were injured in the incident in Kapisa province. | |
An official told the BBC that an Afghan non-commissioned officer got into a "verbal clash" and opened fire. | |
President Nicolas Sarkozy said France was suspending its training programmes in Afghanistan following the attack. | President Nicolas Sarkozy said France was suspending its training programmes in Afghanistan following the attack. |
He was sending his defence minister, Gerard Longuet, to the country "immediately," he said. | |
Mr Sarkozy said that the question of an early French withdrawal from Afghanistan would arise, if security conditions were not re-established. | |
It was "unacceptable" for French troops to be fired on by their allies, he said. | |
Thursday's incident, in the Tagab district, took place at 08:00 local time (03:30GMT), according to French media reports. | |
It brings to 82 the total number of French troops killed in Afghanistan since 2001. | |
Le Figaro said the attack could mark "a turning point" in French involvement in the country. | |
An Afghan official told the BBC: "This is a tragic incident, a sad and tragic day for us and for Nato." The Afghan soldier was arrested by the French, he said. | |
Nato confirmed in a statement that four of its troops had been killed, and that a suspect had been apprehended, but gave no further details. | Nato confirmed in a statement that four of its troops had been killed, and that a suspect had been apprehended, but gave no further details. |
Incidents of Nato soldiers being shot by their Afghan colleagues have increased in recent months. | Incidents of Nato soldiers being shot by their Afghan colleagues have increased in recent months. |
Three weeks ago two members of the French Foreign Legion were shot dead by an Afghan National Army soldier, also in Kapisa province. | |
Five French soldiers were killed by a suicide bomb while on patrol in the Tagab district of Kapisa in July 2011. | |
That was the heaviest loss of French life in Afghanistan since 10 soldiers were killed in a Taliban ambush in the Sarobi area, east of Kabul, in August 2008. | |
French troops have been part of the Nato-led operation in Afghanistan since 2001, and the country currently has 3,600 troops involved in its operations there. | |
President Sarkozy announced in July that 1,000 troops would be withdrawn from the country by the end of 2012, ahead of full Nato withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014. | |
In a separate development, a Nato helicopter has crashed in southern Afghanistan killing six troops. The nationalities of those killed has not been disclosed, but they are believed to be American. | In a separate development, a Nato helicopter has crashed in southern Afghanistan killing six troops. The nationalities of those killed has not been disclosed, but they are believed to be American. |
The Taliban have claimed responsibility for that incident, but a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan said there was no enemy activity in the area at the time. | The Taliban have claimed responsibility for that incident, but a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan said there was no enemy activity in the area at the time. |