France suspends Afghan military ops after soldiers' death

PARIS - Reuters

This December 31, 2011 file photograph shows French soldiers from the 1st Infantry Regiment as they return to the Nijrab FOB (Forward Operating Base) military base in Tora, in the Surobi province in Afghanistan. AFP Photo

France is suspending military operations in Afghanistan, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Friday, after confirming that four soldiers killed there were French.

An Afghan intelligence security source said earlier that four soldiers were killed and 17 wounded by an Afghan soldier in the Taghab valley of eastern Kapisa province.
 
The shootings were the latest of several in which western soldiers have been killed by members of the Afghan security forces, undermining trust between Afghan and western troops in the runup to the
withdrawal of foreign combat troops in 2014.
 
The four deaths take to 82 the number of French soldiers killed in Afghanistan since 2001.