France Launches Airstrikes on ISIS Capital in Syria
French military planes carried out a series of airstrikes on ISIS strongholds on Sunday in the wake of the attacks on civilians in Paris. CNN reports that targets in Raqqa, Syria were hit by 20 bombs delivered by 12 planes.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. government is sharing so-called “targeting packages” with France, feeding the country detailed information about Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq.
President of France François Hollande said that the attacks are “in the name of self-defense” after the attacks that killed 132 people and injured hundreds more in Paris on Friday night. Hollande called those attacks ““an act of war” against France.
France controls fighter aircrafts at bases in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. According to France’s defense minister Mickael Soria, Sunday’s airstrikes targeted a command center, a recruitment center, an ammunition storage base and a training camp for the Islamic State.
Update, 8:00 p.m. – The French defense ministry has issued a statement on the airstrikes launched tonight against two ISIS targets in Syria, dubbed Operation Chammal. Here is a translation, via The Guardian:
On Sunday 15 November 2015, from 7.50pm to 8.25pm, Operation Chammel hit infrastructure held by Daesh [Islamic State] in Raqqa, Syria. The two targets were destroyed.
The raid was made up of 12 French aircraft, 10 of which were fighter jets, which left simultaneously from the UAE and Jordan.
Twenty bombs were dropped.
Targeted on sites previously identified on reconnaissance missions by France, this operation was carried out in conjunction with US forces.
The first target destroyed was used by Daesh as a command post, a recruitment centre for jihadists, and a depot for arms and ammunition.
The second target was a terrorist training camp.
