ROME, August 19, 2008 (AFP) - Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Tuesday sent condolences to French President Nicolas Sarkozy after the deaths of 10 French soldiers in Afghanistan, the Italian leader's office said in a communique.

In the message he shared his sorrow 'for the sacrifice of your soldiers while defending democracy and freedom in Afghanistan.'

Ten French NATO soldiers were killed overnight in a Taliban ambush, the deadliest incident for foreign troops in battle in Afghanistan since the US-led war was launched in 2001.

It was the heaviest toll for French troops since an attack in Beirut in 1983 left 58 paratroopers dead.

The shock attack also left 21 French troops wounded, and prompted Sarkozy to announce he would immediately head to the country, where the monthly death toll for foreign forces has topped that in war-torn Iraq.

Around 100 insurgents attacked a patrol comprising French and Afghan troops, said NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), under which about 3,000 French soldiers serve.

Italy has some 2,450 troops in the country.