Macron announces the death of a French soldier and injuries to others due to a drone attack in Iraq

SadaNews - President Emmanuel Macron announced shortly after midnight the death of a French soldier and injuries to others in a "drone attack in the Erbil area" in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

Macron stated: "Several of our soldiers were injured, and the non-commissioned officer Arnaud Fréon died for France during an attack in the Erbil area of Iraq."

He added: "The attack on our forces is unacceptable."

These soldiers were "participating in anti-terrorism training with Iraqi partners," according to the French military general staff, which indicated that "six soldiers were immediately transferred to the nearest medical center."

According to the governor of Erbil, the attack was carried out by two drones and took place at a base located in Mehla Qahra, about 40 kilometers southwest of Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq.

This attack comes shortly after a drone strike targeted an Italian base within a military complex hosting other foreign units in Erbil, without causing injuries.

Following this attack, Italian authorities announced that they would temporarily withdraw all their military personnel from this base.

Foreign forces, including French and Italian troops, are present in Erbil to train security forces in the region as part of the international coalition led by the United States since 2014 to combat the Islamic State organization.

Since the beginning of the war in the Middle East, the Kurdistan region of Iraq has faced several attacks attributed to Iranian-backed Iraqi armed factions, which have mostly been thwarted by air defenses.