Taliban insurgents ambushed a convoy of Afghan government forces today and at least 16 people including two French soldiers were killed in heavy fighting, according to military officials.
Fighting in the Afghan south in recent days has been some of the most fierce since the Taliban were overthrown in 2001. It comes as thousands of NATO peacekeepers are arriving in the region.
The insurgents ambushed the convoy in the trouble-plagued Sangin district of the southern province of Helmand.
Afghan military officials said four government soldiers and at least 10 Taliban were killed.
Two French soldiers were killed and one wounded, the French Defence Ministry said. A foreign military official said they were killed in the Sangin battle.
"The fighting is over now and we have started a mopping-up operation," said Afghan Defence Ministry spokesman Zahir Azimi.
The Taliban, fighting to oust foreign forces and defeat the Western-backed government, said they killed scores of police and soldiers in the ambush. Taliban spokesmen regularly exaggerate their enemies' losses.
The Taliban have stepped up attacks on foreign and government forces in recent months as NATO is expanding its peacekeeping force from 9,000 to 16,000, in preparation for taking over in the south from U.S.-led forces.