France threatens Afghan pullout after troops killed

PARIS/CHARIKAR: France threatened on Friday to pull out early from the NATO-led war in Afghanistan after a rogue Afghan soldier opened fire on French soldiers, killing four and wounding about 15 others.

The killings in the Taghab valley of Afghanistan's eastern Kapisa province were the latest in a series of incidents in which Afghan troops have turned on Western allies.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said all French operations on the ground were being suspended and his defence minister was dispatched to Afghanistan to clarify the situation.

"If the security conditions are not clearly established then the question of an early return of French forces from Afghanistan will arise," said Sarkozy.

France has almost 4,000 troops in Afghanistan as part of the130,000-strong NATO-led force there. French troops mainly patrol Kapisa, a mountainous province near Kabul. They are due to leave by around the end of 2013.

NATO said four soldiers were killed. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told a news conference about 15 others were wounded, eight of them seriously.

The Taliban did not claim responsibility for the attack, but told that an Afghan soldier had killed eight French troops. (Reuters)