Afghan soldier sentenced to death for killing French troops

An Afghan soldier has been sentenced to death for killing five French soldiers, an official at the Afghan Defence Ministry said on Tuesday, dpa reported.

The Afghan soldier carried out the attack in January at a military base in Tagab district of Kapisa province, north-east of Kabul.

"Abdul Saboor, an army soldier who killed five French soldiers seven months ago, was sentenced to death at a military court on Sunday," said Daulat Waziri, a spokesman for the ministry.

The French troops were unarmed when they were attacked during a training session with Afghan forces.

The French government decided to withdraw most of its soldiers by the end of this year following the incident.

"Abdul Saboor confessed that he had killed five French soldiers," Waziri said, adding that he still has the right to appeal.

Attacks by uniformed gunmen on foreign troops have increased this year. There have been 20 incidents and more than 27 deaths since January, said Lieutenant Colonel Sarah Goodson, a spokeswoman for the NATO-led forces.

Meanwhile, a provincial governor in eastern Afghanistan escaped two attempts on his life, an official said.

"Taliban insurgents launched two attacks on Nuristan Governor Tamim Nuristani's convoy late Monday in Vama district," the governor's spokesman Mohammad Zarin said, adding the governor survived but one policeman was killed and two others were injured.

It was the fourth attack targeting senior Afghan government officials in as many days. dpa hah sub ses Author: Hafiz Ahmadi, Subel Bhandari