Three French soldiers killed in Libya: defence ministry

Three French soldiers have been killed in Libya, the defence ministry said Wednesday, in the first confirmation that France has troops in the country where the Islamic State group has rear bases.

“Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian regrets the loss of three French officers who died while on mission in Libya,” the ministry said in a statement without giving any details on the circumstances of their deaths.

Le Drian praised the “courage and devotion” of the slain soldiers and sent condolences to their families.

France had previously revealed that its warplanes were carrying out reconnaissance flights over Libya.

But Paris has never confirmed that it had special forces on the ground in the country, as reported by Le Monde daily and hinted at by the UN’s envoy to Libya, Martin Kobler.

Rival militias in the desert state have been vying for power since the overthrow of veteran dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.

The Islamic State group has taken advantage of the breakdown in central authority to establish a stronghold in the coastal city of Sirte.

Libyan forces allied with the UN-backed government in Tripoli have been battling to retake the city from the jihadists for the past two months.

Last month, Le Drian told parliament that France had been gathering intelligence in Libya “for some time.”

“We need to see what’s going on,” he said, without giving details.

He had ruled out however deploying ground forces in Libya.

“Our presence on the ground is not the right solution,” he said.

France, together with Britain, led the push in 2011 for the NATO-led campaign of airstrikes that helped topple Khadafi’s regime.

The two countries were later accused of not doing enough to support Libya after the intervention.

In June they lobbied for EU ships patrolling the Mediterranean against migrant traffickers to be allowed to intercept vessels suspected of smuggling arms to Libya.

The UN Security Council authorised the move on June 15.