The Western military alliance formally denied the substance of a report in Canada's national Globe and Mail newspaper -- citing a "secret" NATO document -- which said its forces were ill-equipped.

Its chief spokesman did, though, express concern about increasingly sophisticated cross-border attacks.

The comments came on the eve of a vote Monday by French lawmakers on whether to keep French troops in Afghanistan, triggered by the deaths of 10 soldiers in the Taliban ambush.

Both houses of parliament are expected to support maintaining the 2,600-strong contingent, one of the largest serving in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's Afghanistan mission.

A NATO official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Sunday that an email sent by an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) officer to command HQ in Afghanistan had been leaked.

There was no official report "but there was email correspondence between an ISAF officer and command HQ in Kabul, in which the officer expressed his personal opinion on what happened during the ambush," the source said.

"This email was leaked," the source added, giving no further details on its tone or contents, or on the officer in question.

"We have no information and have seen no information that would indicate that the French forces were in any way ill-equipped for this mission," chief NATO spokesman James Appathurai had said earlier.

The Globe and Mail said Saturday that Taliban fighters who ambushed French soldiers on August 18 were well-trained and better armed than their enemy.

But Appathurai said: "I am in a position to say that there is no such report, either from NATO or from ISAF."

The chief of staff for the French army, Christophe Prazuck, suggested a "rumour" had stemmed from within the army, after the French military gathered testimony from surviving soldiers caught in the ambush.

Another 21 French soldiers were wounded in the attack by around 100 Taliban in Sarobi, 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of Kabul.

It was the deadliest ground battle for international soldiers in the country since they toppled the Taliban regime in 2001, and the heaviest toll for the French military in 25 years.

According to the Canadian report, the 30 French paratroopers did not have enough bullets or proper communication equipment -- forcing them to stop fighting after only 90 minutes.

Prazuck denied this.

"We were always ready to respond to the Taliban's fire," he said, adding that helicopters supplied them with amunitions during the nine hours of combat.

The Globe and Mail said the soldiers only had one radio, which was quickly knocked out, leaving them unable to call for air support.

Prazuck also disputed this claim: "Radio signals were only interrupted for a few minutes."

Appathurai conceded ISAF was becoming concerned about fighters training at rearbases in Pakistan and then launching attacks over the border.

"There are real concerns about foreign fighters, Al-Qaeda, who have bases across the border in Pakistan, which has led to an increase in the sophistication in attacks on NATO forces, not just the French," he said.

ISAF is trying to spread the rule of Afghanistan's weak central government across the country, but it has struggled to stop the Taliban.

related report
Taliban better armed than French in Afghanistan: report
The Taliban fighters that ambushed French soldiers in Afghanistan on August 18 were well-trained and better armed than their enemy, according to a NATO report published in the Globe and Mail on Saturday.

Ten French soldiers were killed -- including one stabbed to death -- and another 21 wounded in the attack by about 100 Taliban in Sarobi, 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of Kabul.

It was the deadliest ground battle for international soldiers in the country since they toppled the Taliban regime in 2001, and the heaviest toll for the French military in 25 years.

The 30 French paratroopers that were ambushed did not have enough bullets or proper communication equipment, the newspaper said, citing a leaked NATO document marked "Secret."

That forced the French to stop fighting after only 90 minutes, the newspaper said.

Among them the soldiers had only one radio which was quickly knocked out, leaving them unable to call for air support.

The Taliban fighters also included snipers, and fighters used incendiary bullets that punches holes in armored vehicles.

"The enemy's accuracy was very good," the document said, according to the newspaper.

The attackers may also have included Pakistan-based extremists, a spokesman with NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), Canadian Brigadier General Richard Blanchette, told the newspaper.

"We do have hints that Al-Qaeda provides training to some insurgents on the other side of the border," Blanchette said. "Because it's close, it would be very reasonable to believe that this could have been an influence of outside training."

He added: "The fact that they have more sophisticated arms is perhaps also a sign there's a connection to outsiders."

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