French, US troops launch major operation on Taliban stronghold

More than 1,100 French, US and Afghan soldiers have attacked the Taliban stronghold of Uzbeen Valley, where 10 French soldiers were killed in an ambush in August 2008. Five members of the US special forces were wounded during the operation.

AFP - More than 1,100 soldiers, including 800 French legionnaires as well as US and Afghan commandos, launched a major operation Thursday east of the Afghan capital, military officials said.
  
Military officials said five US special forces were wounded in the fighting in the Uzbeen Valley, a Taliban stronghold where 10 French soldiers were killed in an ambush in August 2008.
  
The operation, codenamed "Septentrion", was aimed at "reaffirming the sovereignty of Afghan security forces in the north of the Uzbeen Valley," Colonel Benoit Durieux of the French Foreign Legion said.
  
 

Date created : 2009-12-17