Nato denied 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 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 that the military alliance had no knowledge of such a report and was fully supportive of French forces, who are helping fight a tenacious Taliban-led insurgency in the strife-torn country.
"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 percent, full confidence in the capabilities, training and equipment of French forces," he added. One of the French soldiers was stabbed to death and another 21 were wounded in the attack by about 100 Taliban in Sarobi, 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of Kabul.
It was the deadliest ground battle for international soldiers in the country since they toppled the Taliban regime in 2001, and the heaviest toll for the French military in 25 years. According to the Globe and Mail's report, the 30 French paratroopers did not have enough bullets or proper communication equipment.