France Launches First Iraq Air Strike


France Launches First Iraq Air Strike

TEHRAN (Tasnim) - French jets launched their first air strike against ISIL militants in Iraq, destroying their target, President Francois Hollande says.

"This morning at 9.40, our Rafale planes carried out a first strike against a logistics depot of the terrorist organisation Daesh in north-east Iraq. The objective was hit and completely destroyed," Hollande's office said in a statement on Friday, using an alternative name for the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.

"Other operations will follow in the coming days," added the statement from Hollande's Elysee Palace office.

"The prime minister will inform parliament next week about the conditions of our forces' engagement at the side of the Iraqi armed forces and the Peshmerga (Kurdish fighters) to weaken Daesh and restore Iraqi sovereignty," the statement added.

In a dramatic announcement at a hotly awaited news conference on Thursday, Hollande said France would provide what he called "aerial support" to the Iraqi army in their fight against the militant group which has taken over nearly half of the violence-ridden country, AFP reported.

"I decided to respond to the request of the Iraqi authorities to offer aerial support," Hollande told reporters.
"As soon as we have identified targets, we will act... within a short time-frame."

France has already conducted reconnaissance flights over Iraq that started Monday and dispatched weapons to the Kurdish forces fighting the ISIL group.

Hollande himself visited Iraq late last week - the most high-profile leader to do so since militants stormed across the country - and Paris hosted an international conference on the crisis Monday.

 

 

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