Sergeant Nicolas Mazier, an Air Force paratrooper, “fell in combat while carrying out his mission,” the Elysee Palace said in a statement.
It said other soldiers from the unit were also wounded.
An Iraqi security source in northeastern Kirkuk said that Iraqi and French troops were ambushed by ISIL forces late Monday in neighboring Salah al-Din province.
In a battle lasting “more than five hours,” an unknown number of French troops as well as three members of Iraq’s anti-terrorist forces were wounded, the source added.
MNA/PR