Young French soldier from Operation Sentinelle commits suicide

A soldier from Operation Sentinelle committed suicide on Friday evening at his military accommodation.

Operation Sentinelle soldiers patrol in Paris in Mai 2017. Michel Euler / POOL / AFP

The 26-year-old soldier committed suicide with his weapon, a Famas assault rifle, according to a military source.

"This young army volunteer took his own life at his place of accomodation in the Ministry of Defence, put at disposal of the Operation Sentinelle to lodge the units stationed in Paris and who patrol in Paris," the head of the Army's information and public relations department, Colonel Benoît Brulon, told the AFP news agency.

"It is much too early to say anything about the reasons that led him to this extreme act," added Colonel Brulon, adding that an investigation had been entrusted to the gendarmerie.

According to French newspaper Le Parisien, the soldier was a member of the 5th Combat Company of the 1st Regiment of Tirailleurs.