Afghanistan

Rogue Afghan soldier kills French troops

Four French soldiers have been shot dead by a rogue Afghan soldier.

President Nicolas Sarkozy said France is suspending its training programmes for Afghan troops after the killing.

The US-led coalition said earlier an Afghan soldier shot and killed four NATO troops in eastern Afghanistan today.

Sarkozy said it was "unacceptable" that Afghan troops fire at French soldiers. He said French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe is heading to Afghanistan.

The attack was among the most deadly for French forces in the 10 years they have been serving in the NATO-led international force in Afghanistan.

The death brings to 82 the number of French troops killed in the Afghan campaign.

"From now on, all the operations of training and combat help by the French army are suspended," Sarkozy said in Paris.

A big part of the French role recently has been training Afghan troops ahead of an expected pullout of the around 4,000 French troops currently there in 2014.

"If the conditions of security are not clearly restored, then the question of an early withdrawal of the French army would arise," Sarkozy said.

"The French army is in Afghanistan at the service of the Afghans against terrorism and against the Taliban. The French army is not in Afghanistan so that Afghan soldiers can shoot at them," Sarkozy said.

In a statement NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said: "Unfortunately, this is a very sad day for our troops in Afghanistan and for the French people. I would like to express my condolences for the four French soldiers who were killed today and my sympathy to those who were wounded. I pay tribute to the service and sacrifice of all our troops in Afghanistan.

"Such tragic incidents are terrible and grab headlines, but they are isolated. The reality is that every day, 130,000 ISAF troops from 50 nations fight and train with over 300,000 Afghan soldiers. That takes a lot of trust among a lot of soldiers.

"We have the same goal. An Afghanistan that is responsible for its own security. That is what Afghans want. And we remain committed to helping Afghans achieve that goal."

French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet said the French soldiers were unarmed when the attacker opened fire at a base in Gwan in the Kapisa province during a very difficult training exercise at high altitude.

"We don't know at the moment whether it's a Taliban member who infiltrated, or someone who decided (to attack) for reasons that we don't know," he said.

The Afghan was in custody of the Afghan army.

The number of wounded was unclear. Foreign minister Alain Juppe said 15 troops were wounded but did not indicate their nationality. Longuet said eight French troops were wounded, and the commanding officer was in serious condition.