2 French soldiers killed in Afghanistan

Two French soldiers were killed and a third was seriously injured in Afghanistan in two separate accidents, French Defense Minister Gerard Longuet said in a statement. A flight lieutenant died of his injuries after a Gazelle helicopter came down late Friday about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Bagram in the north of the country in difficult weather conditions, said the statement. The pilot was seriously injured in the crash. While a corporal fatally injured himself with his own weapon while travelling in an armored vehicle back to Tagab base, in the northeast, after a mission. An inquiry had been launched into the "circumstances of the accident", said the statement.