Macron, Sudani discuss drone attack that killed French soldier

BAGHDAD — French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday he spoke with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani after a drone attack killed a French soldier and wounded several others near Makhmur.

Officer Arnaud Freon became the first French military fatality of the regional war when two drones struck a base late Thursday where French forces have been training Peshmerga fighters as part of the international coalition against the Islamic State.

Al-Sudani conveyed “his condolences and those of the Iraqi people” for Freon’s death, Macron wrote on X, describing the attack as “unacceptable.” Macron thanked the prime minister for his “commitment to fully uncover the circumstances of this attack and to strengthen measures to protect our forces in Iraq working alongside Iraqis to combat terrorism.”

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani also called Macron on Friday to condemn the attack and thank France for its support and the sacrifices of its forces stationed in the region. Barzani said the Iraqi government must “perform its duty, prevent attacks by those groups, punish them, and thereby prevent Iraq’s interests and its relations with the international community from being endangered.”

The Kurdistan Region has faced at least 200 drone, missile and rocket attacks since the war began Feb. 28, killing four people and injuring 19, according to Community Peacemaker Teams – Iraqi Kurdistan. The IRGC and Iran-aligned armed groups have claimed responsibility for many of the attacks, which have struck military installations, diplomatic facilities, airports, oil sites and residential areas across Erbil and Sulaymaniyah governorates.