Hekmatyar claims deadly French ambush

Afghan militant leader and former PM Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has claimed responsibility for attack on French troops in August that left 10 dead.

In a video message, Hekmatyar who leads the Hezb-i-Islami group said his men carried out the attack on French soldiers in Sarobi, west of Kabul.

Hekmatyar also warned of "more guerrilla assaults on US forces besides the French soldiers," the independent Pajhwok Afghan News agency reported.

Following the August attack, French military officers claimed they had been ambushed by around 170 heavily-armed militants and said they had managed to retaliate and kill between 40 and 70 of their attackers.

Hekmatyar claims that just 10 of his men were killed in the attack. Only one body was recovered from the battle scene.

The rebel leader's video statement contradicts an earlier claim of responsibility by the Taliban. There has also been speculation that the 10 French troops were killed by "freindly-fire" from NATO planes that had come to help them escape the ambush.

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, was Afghanistan's prime minister from 1993 to 1994, and again in 1996. He has long been a thorn in the side of the US, who has blacklisted him as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist."

The August ambush was the deadliest ground attack on international forces since the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and the heaviest single death toll for the French military in 25 years. A further 21 soldiers were wounded in the attack.

The case shocked France and sparked fierce debate about the country's presence in war-torn Afghanistan. Despite calls to withdraw, French lawmakers have recently approved an extension of the country's involvement in the Afghan conflict.

HE/CW/WY