France has said it will withdraw hundreds of its special forces from Afghanistan within the next few weeks. The announcement was made by Michele Alliot-Marie, the French defence minister, during her visit to the Afghan capital Kabul.
"We'll pull our special forces out of Afghanistan in the coming weeks," Alliot-Marie told reporters on Sunday.
She was referring to some 200 French special forces stationed in eastern Afghanistan as part of so call "operation enduring freedom", aimed at hunting down Taliban fighters.
France has deployed a total of 2,000 troops in Afghanistan, with the remainder serving in the Nato-led western occupation force.
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