The BBC reports:
A statement said planes had attacked an IS logistics depot in north-east Iraq.France was already carrying out reconnaissance flights over Iraq and providing weapons to Kurdish fighters.President Hollande said on Thursday that French air strikes would only target the jihadist group’s positions in Iraq, and not neighbouring Syria.He also insisted that he would not send ground troops.On Friday, Mr Hollande’s office said Rafale planes had carried out the attack and “the objective was hit and completely destroyed”.
Yesterday, French President François Hollande pledged his support to the U.S.-led campaign in the Middle East, citing an international duty to confront “unremitting brutality:”
The Islamic State, also known by the acronyms ISIS or ISIL, “massacres anyone who resists it; hunts minorities, notably Christians; commits atrocities against civilians; decapitates journalists; crucifies opponents; kidnaps women,” he said. “That is the movement we are up against.”Mr. Hollande traveled to Baghdad last week to help mobilize support for military strikes against Islamic militants. On Thursday, he said he had met with his top miliary advisers and had agreed to Iraq’s request for air support to reinforce Iraqi soldiers and Kurdish fighters. He said French fighter jets would strike once targets had been identified. “That means in a short time frame,” he said.
This is a bold move for Hollande, considering his dismal approval rating (13%), and the fact that his coalition in parliament recently survived a vote of “no confidence.” He did, however, show the same reservation as did President Obama; both men have limited the scope of their commitment to the anti-ISIS movement to air strikes, and balked at the idea of putting boots on the ground.
Hollande differs from Obama in the area to which he is willing to commit French troops. He said in a press conference Thursday that he will limit France’s involvement to air strikes in Iraq. Both Hollande and his Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, have cautioned against appearing too friendly with the Assad regime in Syria.
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