Sarkozy Headed to Afghanistan After French Troop Deaths

French President Nicolas Sarkozy plans to visit Afghanistan after 10 French troops were killed and 21 injured by Taliban fighters in an ambush near Kabul, the Guardian reports. The battle—which began yesterday and continued into today—nearly doubled the number of French soldiers who have lost their lives in Afghanistan—only 14 had been killed since the 2001 invasion.

The attack—another in a recent wave of violence—is the deadliest on foreign troops in Afghanistan since 16 Americans were killed when their helicopter was shot down in 2005. France recently pledged 700 more soldiers for NATO’s security force there, with the total to rise to 2,600 by month’s end.
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