A French soldier was killed by rocket fire during a clash with insurgents in Afghanistan.
French Defense Ministry spokesman Commander Christophe Prazuck said the soldier died during a large operation led by French and Afghan troops in the Kapisa region, 60km northeast of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.
Prazuck said Saturday’s operation involved air support from Predator drones and other allied aircraft, and that dozens of militants “were hit hard.”
PHOTO: AFP
He didn’t provide casualty estimates.
France has 3,300 troops involved in NATO and US-led military operations in Afghanistan.
Prazuck said Saturday’s death raises to 27 the number of French soldiers that have died during the war there.
Meanwhile, a roadside bomb hit a convoy carrying the mayor of a key southern city yesterday, killing a passer-by, while the US coalition and Afghan special forces killed five militants in the same region.
The mayor of Kandahar survived the blast, which killed a civilian and wounded two others, said Najibullah Khan, a police spokesman.
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