French soldier killed in drone attack in Iraqi Kurdistan

Drone attack wounds six French troops at base in Iraqi Kurdistan

PARIS,— A French soldier was killed during an attack in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday. The announcement marks the first French military death linked to the ongoing Middle East war.

Macron said the member of the armed forces died during an attack in the Erbil region of Iraq.

The president wrote in a post on X that the soldier “died for France” and confirmed that several other troops were wounded in the same strike.

France has not identified who carried out the attack.

The incident happened as tensions across the Middle East have risen sharply. Fighting expanded across the region after US Israeli strikes on Iran last month, drawing several countries and armed groups into the conflict.

Since then, a number of attacks blamed on factions aligned with Iran have targeted areas where foreign troops are stationed. Those forces are deployed as part of an international coalition working with Iraq against jihadist groups.

Earlier this week, a pro Iranian Iraqi group warned that French interests in the region could be targeted.

The warning followed the arrival of a French aircraft carrier in what the group described as the operational area of the American Central Command.

A statement published on the Telegram channel of Ashab Alkahf also urged what it called “our brothers in the security forces” to stay away from a base where it said French troops were stationed. The group did not claim responsibility for the strike.

French military officials said drones struck a base where French soldiers were taking part in counter terrorism training with Iraqi forces.

Officials in Iraqi Kurdistan provided further details about the incident. The governor of Erbil said two drones were involved in the strike and that the attack hit a base in Mala Qara, about 40 kilometers from the regional capital.

The French military reported Thursday that six soldiers were wounded in the attack. It was not immediately clear whether the soldier who died was among those injured.

At least six French soldiers were wounded when drones targeted a joint base used by Kurdish Peshmerga militia forces and French troops in the Makhmour area of Iraq, Erbil Governor Omed Koshnaw said in a statement.

Macron condemned the strike, saying the war in Iran could not justify attacks on French troops. He called the assault unacceptable.

The death followed another recent drone attack that targeted an Italian base in Erbil inside a military compound hosting foreign forces.

No injuries were reported in that incident, though Italy later said it was temporarily withdrawing its personnel.

Troops from several countries, including France and Italy, are in Iraqi Kurdistan to train Kurdish security forces under the US led coalition against jihadist groups.

Macron said their presence in Iraq remains strictly tied to the fight against terrorism and stressed that France’s position in the wider Middle East conflict is strictly defensive.

(With files from AFP | Reuters)