France Announces First Airstrikes Against Islamic State in Syria

According to the statement issued from the office of French President Franois Hollande in Paris, the aerial strikes were ordered to counter the IS.

“Civil populations must be protected against all forms of violence, those coming from Daesh and other terrorist groups, but also against the deadly bombings of (Syrian) President Bashar al-Assad” the statement said.

The strikes are the first that French forces have carried out against ISIS targets in Syria, though they have previously targeted militants associated with the group operating in Iraq.

Hollande’s office announced Sunday, September 27, 2015, that “France has hit Syria” based on information from French reconnaissance flights sent earlier this month. In an interview broadcast ahead of his meeting on Monday with President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin sharply criticized US military support for Syrian rebels, describing it as illegal and useless.

“But we must all act in unison and have a formula that is required to drive out the terrorists, immediately”, he told NPR radio.

But until now it limited its air strikes on the extremist group to Iraqi territory. But for France in Syria, it will only be a few symbolic strikes.

“The camp was totally destroyed”, Mr Hollande said after arriving at the United Nations for a major development summit and the UN General Assembly.

The operation to “fight the terrorist threat” of IS was coordinated with regional partners, a statement said.

Russia’s increased military involvement in Syria, coupled with the refugee crisis the conflict has provoked in the region and the European Union, has added increased urgency.

The French government has insisted that while it is part of the US-led coalition, it is deciding who and what to hit.

A first cross-border foray by 54 US-trained fighters was defeated by an Al-Qaeda linked militia and a second appears to have traded many of their arms to jihadists for safe passage.