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France plays down Taliban capture of anti-tank missiles

ANNECY: France played down the capture by Taliban of two French anti-tank missiles seized after a major attack was launched on hundreds of its troops in Afghanistan on Friday.

Defence Minister Herve Morin said that western forces in Afghanistan had to abandon weapons in the field and that the main concern had been to get the troops out of last Saturday's ambush alive.

"It was an ambush in a narrow valley, with a lot of Taliban," said Morin as he visited an army unit in the eastern town of Annecy that was about to send some of its soldiers to Afghanistan.

"The essential thing is that everyone is alive," he said, adding that the abandoned Milan anti-tank missiles would be difficult to use for anyone without the proper training.

Fourteen Taliban were killed in the clash, according to NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.

The ambush took place in the Alasai valley north of the capital Kabul, near where 10 French soldiers were killed in another Taliban ambush in mid-August.

The French army waited until Thursday to publicly announce the incident.

It said that around 300 French troops were attacked by about 100 Taliban and had to retreat after fierce fighting. Air cover was called in to help them get out of the ambush, said Lieutenant Colonel Bruno Louisfert, a French army spokesman in Afghanistan.

He said a missile launcher was also abandoned along with the two Milan portable medium-range guided missiles. afp

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