00:21Late at night near the city of Erbil in northern Iraq, soldiers were carrying out routine training
00:27exercises. Then suddenly, drones appeared in the sky. Within seconds, explosions ripped through the
00:35base, flames shot up into the night, buildings were damaged, soldiers scrambled for cover, and when the
00:42smoke cleared, a French soldier was dead. Now the attack is raising serious questions. Are Iran-linked
00:50militias expanding their targets to include European forces? A major escalation took place in
00:57the Middle East, a deadly drone strike on a French military base in Iraqi Kurdistan that triggered a
01:03huge fire and left multiple soldiers wounded. The attack is part of a growing wave of strikes against
01:10foreign troops in Iraq as regional tensions surge. The strike happened on the night of March 12th in
01:17the Maqmur district, about 40 kilometers southwest of Erbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdish region.
01:23The base in the Malakara area hosts French troops working alongside Kurdish Peshmerga forces.
01:31Their mission is not combat operations, but training Kurdish forces to fight ISIS as part of the
01:37international coalition led by the United States. France has been involved in this mission since
01:432015, but this time that training mission became a target. According to regional officials,
01:50two drones struck the base, slamming into the compound where troops were stationed. The explosions
01:56triggered large fires and heavy damage at the facility. Emergency crews rushed to evacuate wounded
02:02soldiers while others secured the area in case more drones were incoming. Initial reports said several
02:09troops were injured, but hours later the situation became more serious. French President Emmanuel Macron
02:16confirmed that one soldier had died from the attack. The fallen soldier was identified as Chief Warrant
02:23Officer Arnaud Friand, a member of France's 7th Battalion of Chasseur Alpan, an elite mountain infantry unit
02:31based in Vars, France. In a statement, Macron said Chief Warrant Officer Arnaud Friand died for France during an
02:39attack in the Erbil region of Iraq. He also called the strike unacceptable. At least six to seven other
02:47French soldiers were wounded, though most injuries were light to moderate. The wounded were quickly
02:52transported to nearby medical facilities. Over the past several days, multiple drones and missiles have
02:59been launched towards bases hosting foreign forces across Iraq's Kurdish region. Many of these attacks are
03:05believed to be carried out by Iran-aligned militias, sometimes operating under the umbrella of the
03:11Islamic resistance in Iraq. Just hours before the French base was hit, another drone targeted an
03:17Italian military base in Erbil. This sudden surge in attacks is happening in the shadow of a much larger
03:24regional crisis. After U.S. and Israel strikes on Iranian targets earlier this year, Iran-aligned groups
03:32across the Middle East have vowed retaliation.
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