PARIS; KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN -- France's new commitment to put more of its troops on the line in Afghanistan was severely tested yesterday after a Taliban ambush near Kabul left 10 of its soldiers dead and 21 wounded in the worst single-day death toll for the French military in 25 years.

President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose Afghan policy defies decades of French hostility toward NATO combat missions, said the heavy losses would not weaken his resolve to "pursue the battle against terrorism."

Word of the tragedy prompted him to cut short a holiday and leave immediately for Kabul where he said he wanted to personally assure his troops on the ground that the country stands with them. He was also scheduled to meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

The French casualties, which Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner called a "catastrophe," also underscored the quickly deteriorating security situation around the Afghan capital.

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