September 22, 2008	Monday	Ramazan 21, 1429

BRUSSELS, Sept 21: Nato denied on Sunday that French soldiers had been ambushed by better armed Taliban fighters in Afghanistan last month but expressed concern about increasingly sophisticated cross-border attacks.

“We have no information and have seen no information that would indicate that the French forces were in any way ill-equipped for this mission,” chief Nato spokesman James Appathurai said.

Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper, citing a “secret” Nato report, said on Saturday that Taliban fighters who ambushed French soldiers on August 18 — killing 10 of them — were well-trained and better armed than their enemy.

But Appathurai said: “I am in a position to say that there is no such report, either from Nato or from Isaf (International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan).

“Neither the secretary general (Jaap de Hoop Scheffer) nor indeed Nato headquarters has any knowledge of such a report’s existence. After some research we are still unable to find any evidence of such a report,” he said.

“Nato has 100 per cent, full confidence in the capabilities, training and equipment of French forces,” he added.—AFP