Metropolis Desk-
A member of France’s elite commando unit was murdered on Monday in Iraq while “supporting an Iraqi unit in an anti-terrorist operation,” according to a statement from the office of French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday.
According to a statement from the Elysee Palace, Sergeant Nicolas Mazier of the Air Force “fell in combat while carrying out his mission,” demonstrating Macron’s “profound respect” for his “sacrifice.”
Other soldiers from the battalion reportedly sustained injuries as well.
An Iraqi security source in northeastern Kirkuk reported that jihadists from the Daesh group assaulted Iraqi and French troops late on Monday in the nearby Salah Al-Din region.
Three members of Iraq’s anti-terrorist forces and an unspecified number of French troops were injured during the “more than five-hour” long struggle, the source continued.
Mazier is the third French soldier to die this month in Iraq, where the nation’s troops are fighting alongside other nations in Operation Inherent Resolve, an ongoing offensive against the Daesh terrorist organization.
In separate instances in August, Sergeant Baptiste Gauchot and Officer Nicolas Latourte, two men, one murdered in a car accident and the other during a training exercise.
The Levant and Gulf region’s Inherent Resolve operation includes about 600 French troops.
Source- Arab News
