French soldier dies in training mission in Iraq
French soldiers in Iraq. Photo: AFP via Getty Images
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The French government revealed on Monday that a French soldier died in Iraq on Sunday during anti-terrorism training, the second member of the French armed forces to die in Iraq in three days.
The French Defense Ministry said that Warrant Officer Nicolas Latourte was wounded during urban combat training and was transported by helicopter to a military hospital in Erbil, where his death was confirmed, according to Reuters.
“Nicolas Latourte lost his life in the line of duty,” President Emmanuel Macron said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
The French Defense Minister, Sebastien Lecornu, said in a statement that Latourte was on a mission to train the Iraqi armed forces to fight terrorism.
Last Friday, French Sergeant Baptiste Gauchot died in a road accident in Iraq, where he was taking part in a training mission for the Iraqi armed forces.
“Gauchot was seriously wounded when his vehicle went off the road,” the French Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Gauchot received emergency surgery at a hospital in Erbil but died from his injuries, while a soldier he was with at the time is being treated in a military hospital in Baghdad, according to the French ministry.