Taliban Photos Enrage French

A magazine photo shoot of Taliban fighters wearing the uniforms and personal effects of dead French troops has shocked France, the Guardian reports. Paris Match ran the photos and an interview with a Taliban commander who claims to be responsible for the ambush that killed 10 French soldiers last month. France's defense minister accused the magazine of "doing the Taliban's promotion."

In the interview, the commander threatens to kill all 3,000 French troops in Afghanistan unless they withdraw. The loss of life—the French military's worst in 25 years—prompted much soul searching in France about the country's Afghanistan mission, but Nicolas Sarkozy has vowed to fight on. The commander in the photo shoot was later killed by an airstrike, the Daily Telegraph notes.
(More Paris Match stories.)