Four French soldiers were wounded in clashes Saturday with Afghan rebels in Kapissa province, northeast of Kabul, a spokesman for the French military said Sunday.
All four wounded were taken to a military hospital at Bagram base and the most seriously wounded had a broken leg sustained from rocket shrapnel, said the spokesman, Commander Christophe Prazuck.
The soldiers belong to the same regiment as many of the 10 soldiers who were killed in an ambush on August 18.
They were among 30 troops carrying out a reconaissance mission in Ebdakel village with Afghan policemen, one of whom was also injured when around 15 rebels ambushed their patrol with RPG rocket launchers, Prazuck said.
American planes, which had been monitoring the area at a low altitude, provided air support for the soldiers, but "did not open fire because the clashes took place around the village," he added.
Four American helicopters were also on standby, Prazuk said.
Speaking from Kabul, the spokesman for NATO's regional command Bruno Louisfert said around 20 rebels attacked the French patrol on Saturday afternoon.
At least one Afghan rebel was killed in the ambush and another two injured, according to his initial toll.
French chief of staff Claude Gueant said on local television that the soldiers "are lightly injured, with the most serious suffering a broken leg."
The attack comes six days after France's parliament voted to beef up its mission in Afghanistan with helicopters, drones and other tools amid a national debate over whether those soldiers killed in August were poorly equipped.
Last month's Taliban ambush left 10 French soldiers dead and 21 wounded, the country's worst military losses in 25 years.
Four French soldiers injured in clashes with Taliban
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Originally Posted by Modern Life is Rubbish
