A drone strike in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region has killed a French soldier, France’s armed forces ministry said on Friday, after President Emmanuel Macron confirmed the country’s first military death in the Middle East war.
Read moreMacron Says Official Killed In Iraq As Pro-Iranian Group Vows To Target French Interests
Arnaud Frion (42) was killed and six other soldiers were injured in the drone strike, the ministry said in a statement.
His commanding officer, Colonel Francois-Xavier de la Chesnais, said the Shahed was shot down by an Iranian-designed attack drone.
But French military spokesman Colonel Guillaume Vernet said it was “premature” to identify the specific model of the drone or the launch site, adding that an investigation was ongoing.
“A soldier died for France during an attack in the Erbil region of Iraq,” Macron posted on X after Thursday’s incident.
Since US-Israeli attacks on Iran last month plunged the Middle East into war, many attacks attributed to pro-Iranian factions have targeted the Erbil region, where foreign troops are stationed as part of an international anti-jihadist coalition.
A pro-Iranian Iraqi group has warned that French interests in the region will be targeted after the arrival of a French aircraft carrier “in the area of operations of the American Central Command”.
A statement on Ashab Alkaf’s Telegram channel warned “our brothers in the security forces” to stay away from bases housing French troops.
The group has not directly claimed responsibility for the attack.
‘solidarity’
The French military said the drones struck a base where soldiers were participating in counter-terrorism training with their Iraqi counterparts.
Erbil’s governor said the strike involved two drones and hit a base in Mala Kara, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the regional capital.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani vowed to prevent further attacks after Frion’s death.
Sudanese expressed his “solidarity” with France in a phone call with Macron. He said that necessary measures will be taken to prevent recurrence of such incidents and an investigation will be conducted into the attack.
Macron has insisted his country’s stance on the Middle East war is “strictly defensive”.
“A war in Iran cannot justify such attacks,” Macron said, calling the strike “unacceptable.”
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The soldier’s death follows a separate drone strike on an Italian base in Erbil, inside a military compound that was hosting other foreign troops.
No injuries were reported in that attack, but Italy said it was temporarily withdrawing its military personnel from the base.
Soldiers from several countries, including Italy and France, are training members of the Kurdish security forces in Iraqi Kurdistan as part of a Washington-led anti-jihadist coalition.
(With FRANCE 24 AFP)
(tags to translate)Middle East
