Paris ( CNN ) -- Five French troops and an Afghan civilian were killed on Wednesday in an insurgent attack in an eastern province of Afghanistan , the French president 's office said . The incident occurred in Afghanistan 's Kapisa province , where the French have a strong troop presence , and it comes a day after French President Nicolas Sarkozy visited the country to meet with French troops . The office said the soldiers were protecting a shura , a gathering of high-profile figures , in Joibar village when `` a terrorist detonated his bomb within proximity of the French soldiers . '' The village is in Kapisa 's Tagab valley . Along with those killed , four French soldiers and three Afghan civilians were injured . Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said `` the Taliban claim responsibility for the suicide attack . '' Capt . Justin Brockhoff -- a spokesman for NATO 's International Security Assistance Force -- also reported five international troop deaths , but the spokesman did not disclose the nationalities of those killed per ISAF policy . He said ISAF received a report that the strike could have been a suicide attack and a `` small and heavy weapons attack as well . '' France has about 3,900 troops in Afghanistan , according to the NATO mission there , and the Defense Ministry says it has lost 69 service members in the long war . France has said it will begin to reduce troop numbers , following a `` timetable comparable to the withdrawal of the American troops , '' according to a statement from the president 's office last month . In addition , French Defense Minister Gerard Longuet told France Info radio last month that all French soldiers could be out of Afghanistan by 2013 . According to the U.S. timetable , some 33,000 U.S. troops will be withdrawn by September 2012 . That will leave just under 70,000 Americans in Afghanistan . Sarkozy , who is back in France after his Afghanistan trip , passed along his condolences and said France is determine to continue working with ISAF `` to restore peace and stability '' in Afghanistan . CNN 's Mishan Afsari , Matiullah Mati and Dheepthi Namasivayam contributed to this report .
NEW : 69 French service members have died in Afghanistan . NEW : Five French soldiers , 1 Afghan civilian are killed . Comment: Other troops and civilians were injured . The soldiers were protecting a shura when the attack occurred .