France threatens to pull out of Afghanistan after troops killed

PARIS, (Reuters) – France threatened today  to pull out early from the NATO-led war in Afghanistan after  four 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 their Western allies, damaging  trust.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said all French operations  on the ground were being suspended and his defence minister was  dispatched to clarify things on the ground 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, an often restive province in mountains near Kabul. They  are due to leave by around the end of 2013.
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told a news conference  about 15 other soldiers were wounded, eight of them seriously.
NATO has been rapidly expanding the size of the Afghan  security forces so that they will be able to take over all  responsibility for security by the time 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’s unacceptable that our soldiers are killed by our  allies,” Sarkozy said.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said in a statement: “In  regard to the killing of four French soldiers in Kapisa, I would  like to express my deep sadness and condolences to the families  of the victims as well as to the French people.”
The Taliban said that they could not confirm whether or not  the killer was a Taliban member but signalled that such attacks  were part of its strategy.
In an email statement to media, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah  Mujahid said: “There are a number of Afghan soldiers who have an  Afghan, Islamic dignity in their hearts and who have carried out  a number of attacks against foreign troops.”