French presidency: French soldier killed in Iraq-Syria area

A member of a French paratroop regiment serving with the US-led coalition of nations battling Daesh was killed on Saturday in combat in the Iraq-Syria region, the French army said.

Some 1,200 service personnel are deployed with the French military operation in Iraq and Syria, known as Operation Chammal, launched in Iraq in 2014 and extended to Syria in 2015.

The mission supports local forces in their fight against the militant group, principally with air strikes, reconnaissance flights and training.

The army said the serviceman had been shot as French soldiers were advising local forces during a firefight with Daesh.

President Emmanuel Macron “learned with great sadness” of the soldier’s death, the presidency said in a statement.

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