A French soldier was killed in Iraq on Thursday by an Iraqi-made drone as part of a Western military contingent deployed in the autonomous Kurdistan region to counter a possible resurgence of the jihadist Islamic State group.
Operation Inherent Resolve is an international effort to counter the United States-led IS group – which seized Syrian and Iraqi territory in 2014. It originally included about 80 countries.
The operation has been scaled back in recent years after the jihadist group’s regional defeat in 2016, although the IS group still maintains a presence in the Syrian desert.
From 2022, the Western force is no longer undertaking ground operations and is now primarily limited to airstrikes, targeted operations and training.
The operational headquarters moved from Baghdad to Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan, in late 2025.
The US contingent has been reduced to less than 2,000 troops, and in mid-February Germany announced it would “temporarily” withdraw some personnel from Erbil.
About 20 countries are still involved, according to a recent report by the Pentagon’s inspector general.
Before the Middle East war began, France had about 600 troops on the ground with British, Italian and Scandinavian forces.
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Deteriorating regional dynamics, not to mention the start of the February 28 conflict, have changed the equation.
Since the beginning of the war, Iraqi Kurdistan and Erbil have experienced numerous attacks attributed to pro-Iranian factions, most of which were neutralized by air defenses.
A French soldier was killed and six others injured in one such attack on Thursday night.
French President Emmanuel Macron identified the slain soldier as Chief Warrant Officer Arnaud Frion of the 7th Battalion of Chasseurs Alpins in Vers.
“After February 28, we modified our posture to adapt to the threat level,” the French General Staff said on Friday, without further details.
“We regularly redeploy our staff to provide them with the best possible security guarantees.”
Earlier in the day, a drone crashed into an Italian base in Erbil, causing “damage to infrastructure and equipment,” according to the site’s Italian commander.
No injuries were reported in that attack, but Italy said it would temporarily withdraw military personnel from the base, which was training members of the Kurdish security forces.
On Wednesday, British military personnel shot down two drones heading for a base in Erbil, according to the British Ministry of Defence.
Earlier this week, US forces shot down five of six drones launched against the American-based Erbil International Airport.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)
(tags to translate)Middle East
