STORY: A joint Peshmerga-French base was ablaze after a reported drone attack that killed one French officer and wounded several soldiers in Iraq’s Erbil region on Thursday (March 12).

Fire and smoke plumes were seen rising up to the night sky in an eyewitness video released on Friday (March 13).

Reuters confirmed the location from flag pole, buildings and tower which matched satellite imagery of the area. Coordinates of the facility on fire are 35.92299237185986, 43.69006398782157. The exact time when the video was filmed could not be verified but no older version of the video was found posted online before March 13.

Erbil Governor Omed Koshnaw said in a statement that ⁠a joint Peshmerga-French base in the Makhmour area got hit in a drone attack on Thursday. French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday condemned an attack in northern Iraq that killed one French officer and wounded several soldiers in the Erbil region.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday condemned the attack. Six French soldiers providing counter-terrorism training in the region were wounded in a drone attack, France's army said on Thursday, just hours after an Italian base was also targeted in the area.

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.

It was not immediately clear where the drone had come from.

Iraqi Shi'ite militants have picked up the pace of drone and missile attacks on U.S. interests in Iraq in the last three to four days, according to three Iraqi security sources and two sources close to the groups.

Erbil Governor Omed Koshnaw said in a statement that the drone attack was in the Makhmour area.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

VIDEO SHOWS: VIEW OF FIRE AND SMOKE PLUMES RISING IN DISTANCE AS SEEN FROM VEHICLE

Verification

- Flag pole, buildings and tower matched satellite imagery

- Coordinates of the facility on fire: 35.92299237185986, 43.69006398782157

- Exact time not verified but no older version of the video was found posted online before March 13

- Erbil Governor Omed Koshnaw said in a statement that ⁠a joint Peshmerga-French base in the Makhmour area got hit in a drone attack on Thursday.

- French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday condemned an attack in northern Iraq that killed one French officer and wounded several soldiers in the Erbil region.

RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT

SHOWS: MAKHMOUR, ERBIL GOVERNORATE, IRAQ (RELEASED MARCH 13, 2026) (SOCIAL MEDIA - No Resales / No Archive / News Use Only) (ORIGINALLY SHOT IN PORTRAIT) (NIGHT SHOT)

1. POINT-OF-VIEW FIRE BURNING AND SMOKE PLUMES RISING INTO SKY IN DISTANCE