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Friendly fire didn't kill French: NATO

August 23, 2008

BRUSSELS: NATO yesterday denied a report published in one of France's major daily newspapers that said French soldiers involved in deadly fighting in Afghanistan this week were hit in NATO airstrikes.

Ten French soldiers were killed and 21 wounded in fighting on Monday between the Taliban and French troops near the Afghan capital, Kabul.

"As far as NATO and ISAF (NATO's International Security Assistance Force) are concerned, the allegations in Le Monde are completely unfounded," Alliance spokeswoman Carmen Romero said. "We deny the report ... We have no information whatsoever that would indicate that the French soldiers were killed by NATO planes."

NATO's denial came as France held a day of national mourning and a funeral service for the soldiers in Paris. President Nicolas Sarkozy delivered the eulogy and posthumously awarded the soldiers several medals.

Le Monde reported that, according to French troops wounded in the fighting, NATO airstrikes had missed their targets and hit French troops, as had shots fired by Afghan troops backing them up.

The head of the French armed forces, General Jean-Louis Georgelin, said on Wednesday that the deaths had occurred in the first few minutes of the Taliban attack, which seems to rule out the deaths being caused by the airstrike, but not necessarily the injuries.

According to the soldiers interviewed by Le Monde, not all the men who died were killed in the initial ambush. Some had died later in the battle as they waited for help to arrive, it said.

The Pentagon said it had no information that close US air support had resulted in French casualties. The NATO spokeswoman said: "None of the wounds sustained by those killed or wounded were consistent with air-delivered ordnance ... No French soldier at any time during the incident came on the radio to say that they were taking friendly fire and no French soldier after the event has mentioned to the chain of command that this might have been the case."

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http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24225841-2703,00.html