Six French soldiers were wounded on Thursday, March 13, in an “attack by drones in the Erbil region” in Iraqi Kurdistan, the army’s general staff announced on Thursday evening. These soldiers were “engaged in training actions in the fight against terrorism with Iraqi partners,” the latter specified.
They were immediately “taken care of” and transferred “to the nearest medical center,” added the army’s general staff. The seriousness of their injuries is not currently known.
According to the governor of the Erbil region, the attack took place on a base located in Mala Qara, about forty kilometers southwest of the capital of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan and involved two drones.
The attack was claimed by a pro-Iranian Shiite militia, Ahsab al-Kahf, which links it to the arrival of the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the region, stating in a statement that “all French interests in Iraq and the region will now be under attack.”
An attack had already targeted this base, which hosts soldiers from several countries, including France and Italy, who train members of the Kurdish security forces recently, without causing any injuries. Following this strike, Italy decided to temporarily withdraw its military personnel from this base.
Since the beginning of the war in the Middle East, the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan and Erbil have faced multiple attacks attributed to pro-Iranian factions, most of which have been neutralized by anti-aircraft defense.
