France threatens Afghan pullout: six US troops killed in chopper crash

France threatened on Friday to pull out early from the Nato-led war in Afghanistan after a rogue Afghan soldier opened fire on French soldiers, killing four and wounding about 15 others. The killings in the Taghab valley of Afghanistan's eastern Kapisa province were the latest in a series of incidents that have seen Afghan troops turn on Western allies.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said all French operations on the ground were being suspended and his defence minister was dispatched to clarify the situation in Afghanistan. "If the security conditions are not clearly established then the question of an early return of French forces from Afghanistan will arise," said Sarkozy.
France has almost 4,000 troops in Afghanistan as part of the 130,000-strong Nato-led force there. French troops mainly patrol Kapisa, a mountainous province near Kabul. They are due to leave by around the end of 2013. Nato said four soldiers were killed. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told a news conference about 15 others were wounded, eight of them seriously.
The Taliban did not claim responsibility for the attack, but told Reuters that an Afghan soldier had killed eight French troops. The Islamist group often exaggerates accounts of engagements with foreign forces and casualties. Nato has been rapidly expanding the Afghan security forces so that they will be able to take over all responsibility for security when Western combat forces leave in 2014.
Previous incidents in which Western troops were killed by Afghan colleagues have been blamed either on Taliban infiltration of the Afghan military, or on stress, indiscipline and divided loyalties within the hastily trained Afghan ranks. "It is incomprehensible and unacceptable that Afghan army soldiers assassinate French troops," Juppe told reporters.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who is due in Paris on January 27 to sign a co-operation treaty, expressed his "deep sadness and condolences to the families of the victims". The Taliban said they could not confirm whether the killer was a Taliban member, but signalled such attacks were part of its strategy. French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet said he would report back to Sarkozy by next Tuesday after his trip to Afghanistan.
Sarkozy may be tempted to announce an early withdrawal for domestic reasons, three months ahead of a presidential election. An opinion poll in May showed more than half of French voters back withdrawal. Sarkozy's Socialist rival Francois Hollande has pledged to pull out by the end of this year if he wins power.
"The new position announced by the president goes against all previous statements which had stayed loyal to the coalition line of a progressive withdrawal," Pakzad said. "Without a doubt this statement has been taken with internal politics in mind."
KANDAHAR: Six US troops were killed in a helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan, officials said Friday, indicating the incident was not believed to be the result of enemy fire. The helicopter, a CH-53 Sea Stallion, went down in the volatile Helmand province, according to one US official who said: "Initial indications are that this was not hostile fire." The dead were members of the US military, another US official told AFP. In a brief statement, Nato's International Security Assistance Force said the cause of the crash was under investigation. "However, initial reporting indicates there was no enemy activity in the area at the time of the crash," it said.