Yrys
Army.ca Veteran
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French troops 'spearhead assault in Afghanistan'
More than 1,100 troops have launched a major operation in Afghanistan's
eastern Uzbin Valley, AFP reports. The force reportedly includes 800 French
legionnaires, together with American and Afghan soldiers.
Ten French soldiers were killed in the area in August 2008 when they were
ambushed by Taliban fighters. A further 21 French troops were wounded,
in one of the heaviest tolls suffered by the Nato-led International Security
Assistance Force (Isaf).
The operation is aimed at "reaffirming the sovereignty of Afghan security
forces in the north of the Uzbin Valley", Col Benoit Durieux of the French
Foreign Legion told the AFP news agency. The French have codenamed
the offensive Septentrion.
Last year's ambush was in the area of Sarobi, some 50km (30 miles) east
of Kabul. At the time it was seen as a warning that insurgents were closing
in on the Afghan capital, and was thought to be the heaviest loss of life
suffered by the French military since 58 paratroopers were killed in Beirut
in 1983.
More than 1,100 troops have launched a major operation in Afghanistan's
eastern Uzbin Valley, AFP reports. The force reportedly includes 800 French
legionnaires, together with American and Afghan soldiers.
Ten French soldiers were killed in the area in August 2008 when they were
ambushed by Taliban fighters. A further 21 French troops were wounded,
in one of the heaviest tolls suffered by the Nato-led International Security
Assistance Force (Isaf).
The operation is aimed at "reaffirming the sovereignty of Afghan security
forces in the north of the Uzbin Valley", Col Benoit Durieux of the French
Foreign Legion told the AFP news agency. The French have codenamed
the offensive Septentrion.
Last year's ambush was in the area of Sarobi, some 50km (30 miles) east
of Kabul. At the time it was seen as a warning that insurgents were closing
in on the Afghan capital, and was thought to be the heaviest loss of life
suffered by the French military since 58 paratroopers were killed in Beirut
in 1983.
