French soldier killed in drone attack in Iraq

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

A French soldier has been killed in a drone attack in Iraq’s Erbil region, marking the first French military death since the outbreak of the Iran war late last month, President Emmanuel Macron announced Friday.

Chief Warrant Officer Arnaud Frion was identified by Macron as the fallen soldier, with several other French personnel wounded in the attack.

The president’s office confirmed the casualties occurred during operations against Islamic State remnants in the northern Iraqi region, far from the main theater of the US-led campaign against Iran.

“To his family, to his brothers in arms, I want to express all the affection and solidarity of the nation,” Macron wrote on social media.

“Several of our soldiers have been wounded. France stands by their side and with their loved ones.”

The French leader condemned the attacks on French forces as “unacceptable,” while drawing a sharp distinction between France’s counterterrorism mission and the wider conflict engulfing the region.

“Their presence in Iraq is part of the strict framework of the fight against terrorism,” Macron stated. “The war in Iran cannot justify such attacks.”

France has maintained approximately 800 troops in Iraq and Syria as part of the international coalition against Islamic State, focusing on training local forces and conducting counterterrorism operations.

These forces have found themselves increasingly vulnerable as pro-Iranian militias in Iraq respond to the wider war.

The drone attack on French forces follows a pattern of escalating retaliation by Iran-backed groups. Earlier this week, pro-Iranian militias in Iraq claimed responsibility for drone attacks on the UAE consulate in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region.