Paris - French Defence Minister Herve Morin on Thursday rejected accusations that the French military's response to a Taliban attack on its troops in Afghanistan which killed ten soldiers was too slow.

Morin told RTL radio that the exact circumstances of the attack must be clarified before criticisms can be made.

The French newspaper Le Monde had written on Thursday that support troops were sent to the combat zone too late, and that the patrol in which ten soldiers were killed had been under fire for four hours without help.

But Morin told RTL that a rapid reaction force was despatched "15 to 20 minutes after the firefight began" although it did take about an hour for them to reach the battle site.