Wednesday - August 20, 2008

French paratroopers killed in an ambush in Afghanistan.

It really is quite difficult, speaking for myself here, to crack wise with French jokes.  Sure, we have issues. I’m still PO’d after all this time, that their govt. wouldn’t allow air space to our guys flying on a mission to strike Lybia.  I do understand why they did it, I just don’t agree that it was the good thing and it cost us one of ours. So I don’t forget things like that.  But things like this make me think that not all and maybe not even the majority are SMs.  Anyway, some of em died horribly as you will read here.  I also think they’re frightened tho I have no personal knowledge, of the large numbers of life forms who belong FIRST to the ROP and maybe only second to France.  Maybe.

France suffered its biggest loss of life on the battlefield in 25 years when 10 paratroopers were killed in an ambush in Afghanistan.

By Peter Allen in Paris
Last Updated: 9:57PM BST 19 Aug 2008

French troops on patrol with the Nato-led forces in Afghanistan. President Nicolas Sarkozy flew to the country yesterday after 10 paratroopers died in battle Photo: EPA

Another 21 soldiers were injured and 13 Taliban fighters killed during the ensuing battle in the Sarobi district, 30 miles east of Kabul, which began on Monday afternoon.

France, which has more than 1,500 personnel in the country and has promised 700 more later this year.

The scale of the casualities prompted President Nicolas Sarkozy to fly to Afghanistan immediately to visit the wounded and speak to military commanders.

“In its fight against terrorism, France has been dealt a harsh blow,” said Mr Sarkozy as he prepared to board a plane to Kabul from Paris.

“I acknowledge with respect and emotion the courage of these men, who fulfilled their duty to the point of the supreme sacrifice.

“My determination is intact. France is determined to pursue the struggle against terrorism, for democracy, and freedom.”
The 8th Infantry Parachute Regiment was on a joint reconnaissance mission with the Afghan army when they were ambushed.

After an initial three hour gun battle, shooting continued sporadically overnight.

Around 100 Taliban fighters were involved, and a spokesman for the group later claimed they had destroyed five armoured personnel carriers using land mines in an area known as a militant stronghold.

Rocket launchers and machine guns were also used against the French, who responded by calling in air strikes by Nato warplanes.

At one point in the two-day battle four of the French soldiers, all part of a Nato force, are believed to have been captured before being killed.

The latest deaths will mean France has so far lost 24 service personnel during Operation Enduring Freedom, the campaign to rid Afghanistan of terrorist insurgents.

This compares to 116 British fatalities since the US-led invasion in 2001, 574 Americans and 89 Canadians among 40 countries operating in the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf).

The French losses underscore Mr Sarkozy’s effort to reverse the perception that his country is not doing enough to assist its Nato allies.

Farnce withdrew its special forces soldiers previously deployed in the country after taking high casualties. Some of their dead were reported to have been skinned alive after being captured.

(This isn’t the first time I have read or heard about this kind of atrocity committed by these sub-humans in that country. Apparently it’s the done thing against those seen as the enemy. I do not envy any troops of any nationality fighting this scum.  They and their rop are the cancer eating away the planet.)

The latest attack was the deadliest against international troops in Afghanistan since June 2005, when 16 Americans were killed in Kunar province when their helicopter was shot down.

The battle on Monday was the bloodiest for the French army since a 1983 bombing in Lebanon in which 58 French paratroopers were killed.

http://tinyurl.com/5zycrn

Posted by Drew458     on 08/20/2008 at 08:09 AM   
Filed Under: • RoPMA • Terrorists • War On Terror • War-Stories •  
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