Six French soldiers were injured on Thursday, March 12, 2026, in a drone attack in the Erbil region in northern Iraq. They were engaged in anti-terrorism training with Iraqi partners. The incident occurs amid an ongoing regional war.
Six French soldiers were injured on Thursday, March 12, 2026, in a drone attack in the Erbil region in Iraq, according to the armed forces staff cited by Le Figaro. These servicemen were «engaged in anti-terrorism training actions with Iraqi partners». They were treated at the nearest medical center.
The attack targeted a base in Mala Qara, about 40 kilometers southwest of Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq. According to the governor of Erbil, it involved two drones. This incident follows another drone strike on an Italian base in Erbil, with no injuries, leading Italian authorities to temporarily withdraw their military personnel.
As part of the international anti-jihadist coalition led by Washington, French and Italian troops train Kurdish security forces in Iraqi Kurdistan. Since the Middle East war began on February 28 with Israeli-American strikes on Iran, extended by missile and drone launches from Tehran, the region has faced multiple attacks attributed to pro-Iranian factions, most neutralized by anti-aircraft defenses.
President Emmanuel Macron recently highlighted France's «defensive role» in the conflict, aimed at «protecting French nationals» and supporting partners like Lebanon or countries on the Arabian Peninsula. To this end, Paris has deployed an aeronaval force around the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier in the eastern Mediterranean, involving eight frigates and two amphibious helicopter carriers in an area covering the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz.
