Afghan Soldier Kills Four French Troops; Sarkozy Shaken

Four French soldiers were killed and several wounded in Afghanistan on Friday by a member of the Afghan National Army, prompting President Nicolas Sarkozy to suspend France's training operations in the country.

The French army is alongside its allies but we cannot accept that a single one of our soldiers be wounded or killed by our allies, it's unacceptable, Sarkozy said from Paris.

From now on, all the operations of training and combat help by the French army are suspended, he added.

A total of 82 French troops have been killed in Afghanistan since the start of the war, and Friday was one of the bloodiest days during the campaign. The shooting also coincided with a helicopter crash that killed six NATO fighters.

The incident marked the second time in a month that an Afghan soldier killed French troops, and augments a growing trend of attacks by national security forces against NATO coalition personnel. Afghan forces have targeted International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) soldiers three dozen times since 2007, according to NPR's The Two-Way, raising fear that Taliban insurgents have been infiltrating the military.

The attack on Friday also made Sarkozy question France's long-term role in Afghanistan.

If the conditions of security are not clearly restored, then the question of an early withdrawal of the French army would arise, Sarkozy said.

The French army is in Afghanistan at the service of the Afghans against terrorism and against the Taliban. The French army is not in Afghanistan so that Afghan soldiers can shoot at them.

Friday's shooting suspect has been detained, according to the ISAF.