KABUL, Afghanistan, July 13 (UPI) -- The Taliban killed five French soldiers and a civilian in eastern Afghanistan Wednesday, a day after a visit by President Nicolas Sarkozy, France said.
Sarkozy's office said the soldiers were protecting a meeting of elders in the village of Joibar, in Kapisa province, when "a terrorist detonated his bomb within proximity of the French soldiers," CNN reported.
Four French soldiers and three Afghan civilians were wounded.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility.
Capt. Justin Brockhoff, a spokesman for the NATO force, said the strike may have been a suicide operation.
France has about 3,900 troops in Afghanistan, and Sarkozy's office said in June a pullout, on a "timetable comparable to the withdrawal of the American troops," will begin soon.
The United States plans to pull out 33,000 troops by September 2012.
