10 French soldiers killed in Taliban ambush

TEN French Nato soldiers were killed in a Taliban ambush in Afghanistan, officials said yesterday, in the deadliest combat incident for foreign troops since the start of the US-led war in 2001.

The shock attack also left 21 French troops wounded, and prompted French President Nicolas Sarkozy to announce he would immediately head to the country, where the monthly death toll for foreign forces has topped war-torn Iraq.

News of the attack came as the resurgent Taliban attempted a mass suicide attack on a US military base, in a defiant reminder that tens of thousands of international troops have not been able to keep the Islamic militants at bay.