Afghanistan, Kabul, 14 September / Trend corr. A.Hakimi / Seventeen relatives of French soldiers killed in Afghanistan paid an emotional one-day visit to the country accompanied by France's defense minister, the French military said Friday, Trend correspondent reported from Kabul.
The relatives arrived on a military plane at the invitation of President Nicolas Sarkozy and left after about seven hours, a French officer said.
They spoke to the head of French troops in Afghanistan, General Michel Stollsteiner, and other officers about the August 18 ambush in which the soldiers died, Major Hyacinthe de la Vaissiere told media.
"We spent a day of emotion, communion and exchanges with them," he said.
Seven families on the visit lost a loved one during the ambush east of Kabul that killed 10 French soldiers, and the group also included parents of soldiers killed in 2006 and 2007.
The ambush was the deadliest ground attack on international troops since they arrived in Afghanistan in 2001 to oust the hard-line Taliban regime and the heaviest toll for the French military in 25 years.
The meeting between the families and military took place at a base for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force on the outskirts of Kabul.
It was preceded by religious and military ceremonies.
"If their visit can help them in the grieving process, it is a good thing," the major said without giving more details.
The attack, in which 21 troops were also wounded, has shocked France and sparked debate about the country's involvement in war-torn Afghanistan.
French lawmakers are due to vote September 22 on whether to keep their troops in Afghanistan. They are one of the largest contingents from about 40 countries in the insurgency-wracked nation.
French Defense Minister Herve Morin said on France 2 television denied Thursday that France would pull its soldiers out of the country.
"It is inconceivable that France, a member of the United Nations Security Council, the fifth power of the world, would contemplate a retreat," he said, adding it was a long-term operation that had to be carried out with the aim of strengthening Afghan institutions.
France has lost a total of 24 soldiers in Afghanistan, where its troops are serving in the NATO-led ISAF force.
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