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Afghanistan
French officer killed in fighting after deadly suicide attack
Article published on the 2009-02-11 Latest update 2009-02-11 15:14 TU
The scene of the attack
( Photo: Reuters )
A French army officer was killed in Afghanistan on Wednesday, along with an Afghan interpreter, when insurgents attacked the Afghan army patrol they were training. Earlier, 26 people were killed when a suicide squad attacked three Afghan government buildings.
France's Defence Ministry says that a French non-commissioned officer was wounded, along with the officer and interpreter who were killed in fighting that erupted after their patrol was hit by a landmine.
In a statement President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed his sorrow at the deaths, condemned the attack and reiterated "France's determination to continue to work for the return of peace to Afghanistan."
There are about 2,800 French soldiers in Afghanistan as part of Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf).
Afghan health officials say that 26 people were killed and 55 were wounded in an earlier assault on government buildings by Taliban suicide bombers. Eight of the attackers are also reported to have died.
Interior Minister Atmar Hanif says that the attacks all took place within two minutes of each other.
Five Taliban fighters killed ten staff, two intelligence agents and a police officer at the Justice Ministry, before being shot by security forces, according to Hanif.
Shortly afterwards two attackers targeted the prisons authority, while one man wearing a suicide vest was shot dead outside the Education Ministry.
Intelligence Service chief Amruallah Saleh says that his forces are searching for 21 suspects in connection with the attacks.
A Taliban representative told the AFP news agency that 16 suicide attackers had entered Kabul and would carry out a wave of attacks.
The co-ordination of several attacks at the same time is similar to the strategy employed in last year's Mumbai attacks, says Bronwen Roberts.
And there are other similarities, she told RFI, "The Interior Minister has just had a press conference at which he says that there appears to have been an attempt by the attackers to take several people hostage inside the Justice Ministry."
Interview: Kabul correspondent Bronwen Roberts
