French soldier killed in northeastern Afghanistan

AFP - A French foreign legionnaire was shot dead and another soldier wounded in a Taliban attack on an Afghan army convoy in the northeast of the country Monday, President Nicolas Sarkozy's office announced.

The soldier was "mortally wounded by insurgent fire during a protection mission for a logistical convoy for the Afghan army in Kapisa," the Elysee office said in a statement.

He was the 76th French soldier to die in Afghanistan since allied forces deployed there in late 2001 following the US-backed overthrow of the Taliban.

"Another soldier was wounded in the attack," the statement said.

Around 4,000 French troops are based in the mountainous Kapisa region supporting the NATO-led effort to battle Taliban rebels and to build up and train the forces of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Polls show that French public opinion has turned decisively against the conflict, but Sarkozy has said he is determined to continue