France Carries Out Airstrikes Against ISIS In Iraq

President François Hollande said more strikes would follow.

By
Francis Whittaker
by Francis Whittaker

BuzzFeed News Reporter, UK

France has carried out its first airstrikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Iraq, the Associated Press reported.

AFP/Joel Saget

French President François Hollande announced that French Rafale fighter jets (pictured in this file photo) were deployed against positions in the northeast of the country on Friday.

They hit an ISIS logistics depot, which was "entirely destroyed."

Hollande vowed to carry out more airstrikes against ISIS positions in the future.

This morning at 9:40, our Rafale planes carried out a first strike against a logistics depot of the terrorist organisation Daesh in northeast Iraq. The objective was hit and completely destroyed. Other operations will follow in the coming days.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.

On Thursday, Holland announced he would offer "aerial support" to the Iraqi military, AFP reported.

Pool / Reuters

On Monday, France began reconnaissance flights over Iraq and dispatched weapons to the Kurdish forces Peshmerga fighting ISIS.

Hollande himself made a trip to Iraq last week.

The U.S. has spent the last few weeks gathering support for an international anti-ISIS coalition, including several Arab nations.

Earlier this week, Hollande hosted a summit of foreign ministers attended by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that resulted in a joint pledge of military support to Iraq in the fight against the militant group.

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