Man dressed in Afghan army uniform kills two French soldiers

The two, who were members of the Foreign Legion and fighting with Nato forces, were shot dead by a man dressed in Afghan National Army uniform in the Tagab valley in Kapisa, where the French military carry out operations as part of the Isaf international security force.

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They are the 77th and 78th French troops to have died in Afghanistan since the 2001 Nato-led toppling of the Taliban.

French Defence Minister Gérard Longuet described the shooting as an "isolated act" that "does not pose a challenge to the transition process that has been initiated to pass responsibility for security to the Afghan National Army".

The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack, as well as for a roadside bomb in Helmand province that killed 10 Afghan police officers.

The French presidency announced that they were junior officers in the French army in a communiqué on Thursday morning.

President Nicolas Sarkozy confirmed France’s “determination to continue to work aas part of Isaf to re-establish peace and security in this country and contribute to its development”.

A legionnaire from the same regiment was killed in the Tagab valley on 14 November and two other legionnaires were killed there in August.

Two French journalists, Hervé Ghesquière and Stéphane Taponier, were held hostage in Kapisa province for 18n months before being freed in June.