French soldier killed during anti-terrorism training in Iraq

A French soldier was killed in an anti-terrorism training exercise in Iraq on Sunday, the French government said, the second member of the French armed forces to die in Iraq in three days.

Warrant Officer Nicolas Latourte was wounded during an urban combat training exercise and transferred by helicopter to a military hospital in Erbil where he was confirmed dead, the defence ministry said.

"Nicolas Latourte lost his life in the line of duty," President Emmanuel Macron said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said in a post Latourte had been on a mission to train Iraq's armed forces "to fight terrorism".

Sergeant Baptiste Gauchot, a French soldier posted to the Operation Chammal training mission in Iraq, was killed in a road accident on Friday. 

(Reuters)