Sources: Iraqi army receiving anti-drone weapons following ISIS attack

Iraqi sources said that the Iraqi army is receiving anti-drone weapons after deadly attacks by ISIS using “booby-trapped drones” in the northern part of the country, Al Arabiya News Channel reported on Friday.

A booby-trapped drone operated by ISIS killed two Kurdish fighters and injured two members of the French special forces in the Kurdish area of Iraq, two political sources said on Wednesday.

The incident, in early October in Erbil in northern Iraq, has been reported by French media outlets but neither the army nor the defense ministry has confirmed it.

One of the French sources confirmed the use of a “booby-trapped drones in Iraq” while another confirmed that two French soldiers were hurt in the incident.

Le Monde newspaper reported that the soldiers were operating with Kurdish peshmerga fighters when the drone exploded.

One of the French soldiers has life-threatening injuries. Both have been flown back to France for treatment.

New development

The use by ISIS of drones carrying explosives that are intended to blow up when they hit their target is a relatively new development.

France is part of the international coalition fighting ISIS, which is preparing for a major offensive to dislodge the militants group from Mosul, which lies 85 kilometers (53 miles) from Erbil.

Around 500 French soldiers are based in Iraq where they advise the peshmerga and train Iraqi elite forces in Baghdad.

(With AFP)