Libya attack: French soldiers killed in Benghazi helicopter crash

The helicopter crash reportedly happened near conflict-hit Benghazi

Three French soldiers have died in Libya after their helicopter was shot down, President Francois Hollande says.

The soldiers were killed while carrying out "dangerous intelligence operations", Mr Hollande said. Earlier on Wednesday, French defence ministry spokesman Stephane Le Foll confirmed for the first time that its special forces were in Libya.

On Tuesday, Associated Press quoted Libyan officials as saying an Islamist militia shot down a French helicopter. The attack on Sunday happened near the city of Benghazi, and left no survivors, AP reported.

Libya has fragmented since the 2011 uprising when Col Muammar Gaddafi was ousted from office with the help of Nato air strikes.


It now has rival administrations, backed by various militias and brigades spawned by the revolution - and the chaos has allowed fighters from so-called Islamic State (IS) to gain a foothold.

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Mr Le Foll, in an interview with France Info radio on Wednesday, said French special forces were in Libya to "ensure that France is present everywhere in the fight against terrorism".

While France had previously said its warplanes were carrying out reconnaissance flights over Libya, this is the first formal confirmation that France has special forces inside the country.

Their presence was first reported by Le Monde newspaper in February (in French) but later denied by Libyan officials. Le Monde also said that French intelligence officials were stationed inside Libya to help the fight against IS.