News - Afghanistan

A French soldier and 10 Taliban were killed during an operation on Tuesday with Afghan troops in Kapisa province.

French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault's office said in a statement said that the soldier died and another was wounded "during a clash with insurgents."

The statement said the soldiers were from the elite 13th Chasseurs Alpin Battalion. The dead soldier was "part of an assistance team advising Afghan units."

During the operation, the French troops came under small arms and rocket-propelled grenade attacks around 6:00 am while securing an area near a bridge outside Tagab village.

The death toll of French troops is now 87 in Afghanistan.

In July, French troops handed over control of Kapisa to Afghan National Security Forces but French soldiers have continued to train them prior to the 2014 pullout.

the French have 3,400 troops in Afghanistan, most of them based in Kapisa province and the Surbi district of Kabul.

Also on the same day, an Afghan soldier was killed and another was injured in the Jamal Agha district of Kapisa, when the vehicle carrying them was struck by a roadside mine blast.