ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Friday held separate phone calls with French President Emmanuel Macron, extending condolences over the death of a French soldier in an attack on a military base near Erbil.

A base housing both Kurdish and French forces in Makhmour, southwest of Erbil, was targeted late Thursday night, leading to the death of Arnaud Frion, a French soldier, and the injury of several others.

“We strongly condemned the terrorist attack that took place last night in Makhmour. I extend my condolences to the family of this heroic soldier, as well as to the French people, who sacrificed his life in Kurdistan for peace,” Barzani wrote on X on his call with Macron.

The Kurdistan Region President stressed that “the Iraqi government must fulfill its duty to prevent the attacks of these groups and punish them, so that the country's interests and relations with the international community are no longer endangered.”

Ashab al-Kahf, an Iraqi pro-Iran militia, early Friday claimed responsibility for the attack on the Makhmour base.

The Charles de Gaulle carrier set sail toward the Middle East at the behest of Paris following the attack on a British military base in Cyprus, with France having cited protection of its allies and shipping lanes as the reason for the deployment.

Macron also spoke with Iraqi Prime Minister Sudani, where the premier expressed his “regret and solidarity” for the French victims, stressing that an investigation into the Makhmour strike has been launched and that necessary measures are being taken to prevent the reoccurrence of such attacks.

Sudani also renewed “Iraq's rejection of the blatant aggression that have targeted Iraqi sovereignty,” in which dozens of Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) fighters have been killed.

Coalition bases in Iraq have faced repeated attacks since the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran, including a drone strike on a military site used by Italian forces in Erbil on Thursday that caused no casualties.

The US has in turn targeted bases of Iran-aligned Iraqi militias, killing at least 27 fighters and wounding dozens of others.