French soldier killed in attack in Iraq; several others wounded

A French soldier was killed in an attack in Iraq, French President Emmanuel Macron said, marking what appears to be France’s first military death related to the war with Iran. It would also be the first confirmed death of a service member from a NATO country other than the United States.

Macron said in a post early Friday that Master Sgt. Arnaud Frion of the 7th Alpine Chasseur Battalion from Varces was killed in an attack in the Erbil region of Iraq. He said several other French troops were wounded.

Reuters had previously reported that six French soldiers providing counter-terrorism training in northern Iraq were wounded in a drone attack in the Erbil region, just hours after an Italian base in the area was also targeted.

It was not immediately clear whether the soldier whose death was announced by Macron was among those previously reported injured.

Macron called the attack on French forces “unacceptable” and said the troops had been engaged in the fight against ISIS in Iraq since 2015. He said their presence in Iraq was strictly part of the fight against terrorism and added that the war in Iran “cannot justify such attacks.”

No further details were immediately released about the circumstances of the attack or who was responsible.

The death appears to be the first loss announced by France since the start of the conflict and the first confirmed military death from a NATO member country other than the United States.

So far, U.S. Central Command has confirmed that seven U.S. personnel have been killed in action. Another U.S. service member died in a health-related incident.