French soldier killed, six wounded in Iraqi Kurdistan

A French soldier was killed and six others wounded Thursday evening in a drone attack in the Erbil region of Iraqi Kurdistan, marking the first French military death since the outbreak of the Middle East war.

Warrant Officer Arnaud Frion of the 7th Alpine Hunters Battalion, deployed in Iraq since late January, was struck by an Iranian-designed Shahed drone and succumbed to his wounds despite immediate medical intervention. The six wounded remain hospitalized, with repatriation to France underway.

President Emmanuel Macron announced the death on X, calling the attack "unacceptable" and paying tribute to Frion as a soldier who "died for France." His commanding officer, Colonel François-Xavier de la Chesnay, described him as "an excellent soldier, ultra-competent."

Erbil has been repeatedly targeted since the war began, with attacks attributed to pro-Iranian factions seeking to strike Western military presence in the region.

Macron reaffirmed Friday that "France's position is purely defensive,  a stance that is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain. For the Iranian regime and its proxies, French forces on the ground are not observers. They are targets.

The Shahed drone that killed Arnaud Frion made that unmistakably clear.