Five French NATO Soldiers Killed In Afghanistan After Sarkozy Visit

French President Nicolas Sarkozy (left) with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul on July 12.

France has confirmed that five of its soldiers who serve in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan have been killed by a suicide bombing in the northeastern Kapisa Province.

Several Afghan civilians also were injured in the attack.

It was one of two suicide bombings targeting French forces in the area on July 13 -- one day after French President Nicolas Sarkozy visited soldiers at a French base in Kapisa Province.

The police chief in the Tagab district of Kapisa said the second suicide bomber detonated his explosives in front of a French military convoy, injuring some French forces along with an Afghan police officer and Afghan civilians.

Earlier in the day, NATO announced the death of two foreign troops in the south.

compiled from agency reports