French President Nicolas Sarkozy has condemned Monday's Taliban ambush on NATO soldiers in Afghanistan, in which 10 French soldiers were killed.
French troops have been dealt the hardest blow in their struggle against terrorism, Sarkozy said in a statement Tuesday, while expressing condolences to the families of the dead and wounded troops.
The incident will not shake France's determination in pursuing the struggle against terrorism, he added.
Sarkozy said he will head to Afghanistan later Tuesday to express his support and trust to the French soldiers stationed there on behalf of all the French people.
Taliban insurgents killed the 10 French soldiers and wounded 21others in a major battle in the region of Sarobi late Monday, about 50 km east of Kabul, the Afghan capital.
The incident was the deadliest for the French army since a 1983bombing in Lebanon in which 58 French parachutists were killed.
France has 3,000 troops participating in the 40-nation NATO-led force. Most of them are stationed in the relatively peaceful Kabuland Kapisa provinces.
Till Monday's deadly ambush, French forces had lost 14 soldiers in the military action in Afghanistan since the end of 2001.
Source:Xinhua
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