A cloud of smoke rises over Erbil after a drone interception, in Iraqi Kurdistan, on March 12, 2026. (Credit: Shvan Harki/AFP)
Is Iraq on the verge of becoming a front in the regional war? Nearly two weeks after its outbreak, the threats are multiplying. On Friday, March 13, the pro-Tehran armed group Ashab al-Kahf, which operates under the banner of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, announced on Telegram that it would target "all French interests in Iraq and the region," following the deployment of the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the Gulf. This message came the day after a nighttime attack attributed to a pro-Iranian armed group that killed a French soldier — the first since the beginning of the war — and wounded five others in Iraqi Kurdistan. "France’s decision to deploy defense assets in the region is seen as support for the United States, which in the eyes of resistance groups, makes it a legitimate target," notes Lahib...
Is Iraq on the verge of becoming a front in the regional war? Nearly two weeks after its outbreak, the threats are multiplying. On Friday, March 13, the pro-Tehran armed group Ashab al-Kahf, which operates under the banner of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, announced on Telegram that it would target "all French interests in Iraq and the region," following the deployment of the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the Gulf. This message came the day after a nighttime attack attributed to a pro-Iranian armed group that killed a French soldier — the first since the beginning of the war — and wounded five others in Iraqi Kurdistan. "France’s decision to deploy defense assets in the region is seen as support for the United States, which in the eyes of resistance groups, makes it a legitimate target," notes...
