Nicolas Latourte “lost his life while carrying out his mission” in Iraq, President Emmanuel Macron said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Minister of the Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu said that Latourte was on a mission training the Iraqi armed forces “to tirelessly fight against terrorism,” with France playing a key role in training the Iraqi army in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) through Operation Chammal.
His death followed that of Seargant Baptiste Gauchot, another French soldier who was killed in a traffic accident in Erbil on Saturday after his vehicle went off the road.
Another French soldier accompanying Gauchot was transferred to a military hospital in Baghdad after suffering severe injuries.
“The Head of State reaffirms his support for the Iraqi people and authorities and France’s determination to continue to work alongside them to train their security forces in the fight against terrorism,” the Elysees Palace said in a statement.
As a core member of the US-led global coalition against ISIS, France has trained about 10,000 Iraqi soldiers, including Kurdish Peshmerga forces.
During a visit to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region last month, Lecornu alongside Iraqi Defense Minister Thabet Muhammad al-Abbasi announced that 80 French trainers will conduct a two-year training course for about 2,100 Iraqi soldiers, the equivalent of five “desert battalions.”
