A Drone Struck A French Military Base In Iraq
- 13.03.2026, 8:58
- 1,726
Macron confirmed the officer's death.
On the evening of March 13, a military base near Erbil province in Iraq was attacked by a drone strike. It is home to Peshmerga fighters, the official armed forces of Iraqi Kurdistan, and a French contingent.
At least six French soldiers were wounded in the attack and another person was killed, Reuters reported.
French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed the death of Chief Warrant Officer Arnaud Frion of the 7th Alpine Gamekeeper Battalion in Vars and expressed condolences to the family and fellow soldiers. He also emphasized that French authorities support the wounded and their loved ones.
"This attack on our forces, which have been involved in the fight against ISIS since 2015, is unacceptable. Their presence in Iraq is strictly in line with the fight against terrorism. The war in Iran cannot justify such attacks," he said.
According to KRG Commander Sirwan Barzani, the strike targeted a joint base of peshmerga and French forces in the Makhmour neighborhood. Barzani told local media that it came at a military training ground used by French troops to counsel peshmerga fighters.
"The French soldiers there have nothing to do with war or conflict. They are simply military advisers legitimately in Iraq," he said.
Barzani called the incident an "unjust act of terrorism" and called on the Iraqi government to prevent similar attacks.
Earlier, Erbil Governor Omed Khoshnaw said six French soldiers were wounded in the strike, four of whom were taken to hospital.
He is confident that the strike targeted specifically the sixth unit in Makhmour, where French forces are stationed with Peshmerga fighters. No Iraqi military personnel were injured.
Just the day before, another base in Erbil was attacked by a drone. The drone struck Camp Singara, located near Erbil International Airport, where 141 Italian soldiers are stationed as part of Operation Prima Partica.
This mission, integrated with the US-led coalition fighting ISIL and NATO operations in Iraq, focuses on training, assisting and supporting Kurdish peshmerga and Iraqi forces, as well as logistical and defense tasks.
American troops are also stationed at the base. Officials assured that no soldiers were injured in the strike, only equipment was hit.
Kurdish media and monitoring groups such as Rudaw reported nearly 250 drone attacks on the Kurdistan region by noon on March 12, with more than 200 strikes in Erbil province alone, killing at least four people and injuring 19 in the area.
Additional strikes continued on March 13, with three drones intercepted over Erbil and Sulaymaniyah.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but they are widely attributed to pro-Iranian militias within the "Axis of Resistance," part of Tehran's multi-front response to massive U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran that began Feb. 28, involving more than 2,000 drones and 600 missiles.
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