Troops kill Kashmir 'militants'

15 July 2011 Last updated at 11:10 GMT The level of violence in Indian-administered Kashmir has diminished in recent months Security forces in Indian-administered Kashmir say they have killed three militants in a clash in Kupwara district.

Up to five militants entered a house in Maidanpora village and large numbers of soldiers and policemen surrounded the house, an army spokesman said.

Lt-Col JS Brar said three soldiers had been injured in the violence, which was ongoing.

Fighting began after a woman who was being held hostage there sneaked out.

Kashmir, which is claimed by both India and Pakistan, has recently seen a drop in violence.

Thousands of people have been killed in the region since an armed rebellion against Indian rule erupted in 1989.

The operation in Kupwara was launched early on Friday after the army received information that some militants were holding a meeting in the house, Lt-Col Brar said.

Security forces began firing after the woman emerged from the house, officials said.

Residents had been asked to leave the area, reports said.

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France to withdraw Afghan troops

12 July 2011 Last updated at 06:24 GMT Mr Sarkozy has announced a phased withdrawal of French troops France's President Nicolas Sarkozy has said the country will withdraw 1,000 troops stationed in Afghanistan by the end of 2012.

He made the announcement during a visit to a military base in the Sarobi district, north of Kabul.

This is Mr Sarkozy's third visit to Afghanistan since he became president in 2007. He will also meet his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai.

France has a a total of 4,000 soldiers serving in Afghanistan.

"We will pull out a quarter of our contingent, which is to say 1,000 soldiers, between now and the end of 2012," Mr Sarkozy told troops at the base.

"It's necessary to end the war," he added.

He said the French would follow the timetable of US withdrawals announced by President Barack Obama.

Mr Obama has said 10,000 US troops will pull out this year, with another 23,000 leaving by the end of September 2012.

Mr Sarkozy is also due to meet Gen David Petraeus, the US and Nato commander in the country, during his five-hour-long visit on Tuesday.

French troops operate in areas like Kapisa, the province adjoining Kabul, in the east of the country.

French soldiers have been involved in the US- and Nato-led operation in Afghanistan since 2001.

But, in recent years, French special forces have been more closely involved in the fiercest fighting with the Taliban. A total of 64 French soldiers have been killed in the country, nine dying in this year alone.

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French troops die in Afghan blast

13 July 2011 Last updated at 12:33 GMT Most foreign troops in Kapisa are French At least five French soldiers and one civilian have been killed in a suicide bomb attack in the north-eastern Afghan province of Kapisa, officials say.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy confirmed the soldiers had been killed while on duty in the Tagab valley. A number of others were wounded.

The troops were guarding local tribal leaders when the bomber struck.

Mr Sarkozy visited Afghanistan on Tuesday and announced 1,000 French troops would leave by the end of 2012.

The bomber walked up to the French troops who were standing by their armoured vehicles before detonating his explosives, Reuters news agency quotes a local official as saying.

"A terrorist set off a bomb close to the soldiers wounding four other French soldiers seriously and three Afghan civilians," President Sarkozy's office said in a statement.

It is thought to be the heaviest loss of life France has suffered in Afghanistan since 10 of its soldiers were killed in a Taleban ambush in the Sarobi area east of Kabul in August 2008. Another 21 were wounded.

Fighting has intensified across Afghanistan in recent months.

Last month a suicide bomber killed eight people at a police academy in Kapisa.

The Taliban said they carried out that attack, which happened shortly before the French ambassador was due to visit the area.

French soldiers have been part of the Nato-led operation in Afghanistan since 2001.

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