France, March 13 -- Chief Warrant Officer Arnaud Frion "died for France during an attack in the Erbil region of Iraq", Macron posted on X early Friday.

Another six soldiers were injured, France's military police force later said in a statement.

Frion and his unit had been deployed in Iraq since 24 January as part of a counter-terrorism operation dating back to 2015, it said.

France has hundreds of troops based in the Erbil region as part of a broader international coalition to fight Islamic State militants in the area.

"This attack against our forces engaged in the fight against Daesh [Islamic State] since 2015 is unacceptable," Macron said. "The war in Iran cannot justify such attacks."

The president did not say who was behind ...