France to Pull Troops From Afghanistan

PARIS -- France is to withdraw its 200-strong special forces from Afghanistan, all of its ground troops engaged in the U.S anti-terror operation there, authorities announced Sunday.

The decision to pull the elite troops, based in the southeastern city of Jalalabad, comes as the Taliban militia are gaining strength despite the strong engagement _ some 32,800 troops _ in NATO's International Security Assistance Force. France has balked at sending its 1,100-strong NATO contingent outside the relatively safe Afghan capital, Kabul.

"There is a general reorganization of our (troops)," Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said during a visit to Afghanistan. The minister's remarks were aired on France-Info radio.

Among planned changes is a "withdrawal of special forces from Jalalabad in the coming weeks," she said.

The NATO contingent will remain in Afghanistan, Capt. Sebastien Caron, Defense Ministry press officer, said in Paris.

On Saturday, U.S. Sen. John McCain said Afghan, U.S., Canadian, British and Dutch forces have done most of the fighting in Afghanistan over the past year at a time when ambushes, suicide bombings and other attacks have multiplied. Those nations have also borne the brunt of the casualties, and McCain called on NATO nations to send troops into more dangerous areas of Afghanistan.

The elite troops have been deployed in southeastern Afghanistan since July 2003 to help bolster the fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban and the search for al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

Caron said the decision to withdraw the French special forces was made "in concert with our partners, notably the Americans."

Despite the pullout, Alliot-Marie said that France intends to maintain its air power "which has backed up coalition forces numerous times" and is adding two helicopters in the advanced zone between Jalalabad, in the southeast, and Kabul.

She said that France also plans to train Afghan special forces "because it appears important to us that the Afghans see that it is their own forces which are retaking the theater" of war.

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Pierre-Yves Roger contributed to this report.