PARIS, August 19, 2008 (AFP) - President Nicolas Sarkozy will travel later Tuesday to Afghanistan, his office said, after 10 French NATO troops were killed there.

The troops were killed during fighting on Monday and Tuesday that followed a Taliban ambush near the capital Kabul that also left 21 French soldiers wounded, Sarkozy said in a statement.

'In its struggle against terrorism, France has just been hit hard,' Sarkozy said.