French jets destroy jihadist camp

UNITED NATIONS French President Francois Hollande said on Sunday he would give an additional 4 billion euros ($4.47 billion) in public aid for development in poor countries from 2020. He said that while it was vital to coordinate efforts against Islamic State militants this was not yet happening.

“I believe we have now some questions about how we are likely to proceed”, Kerry instructed editors.

Kerry also mentioned Syria by having…

The move was seen in the region as potentially giving Moscow more sway in the Middle East. In an interview broadcast ahead of his meeting on Monday with President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin sharply criticized USA military support for Syrian rebels, describing it as illegal and useless. “It turns out that only 60 of these fighters have been properly trained, and as few as four or five people actually carry weapons”, he said.

An IS operative, meanwhile, said it was unlikely that Russian Federation would be drawn into the war against the group. “Russia will not take part in any field operations on the territory of Syria or in other states; at least, we do not plan it for now”, he said.

Hundreds of French nationals have traveled to Northern Syria to join the fight against Mr. Assad.

The leader of Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, which backs Syrian government forces, confirmed on Friday that a long-term cease-fire deal had been reached which would include withdrawal of rebel fighters from Zabadani in exchange for the evacuation of civilians from al-Foua and Kefraya.

France has also called for a comprehensive response to Syria’s civil war.

France has remained opposed however to recent diplomatic suggestions of allowing Assad to stay in power for a limited time. “We have got a long way to go in that conversation”, the official said.

France said on Sunday it had launched its first air strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)I, Syria in an act of “self-defense” to stop to the militant group from carrying out attacks inside France. French officials now believe that targeting Islamic State with airstrikes on its Syrian strongholds is key to preventing attacks in France.

ISIL militants carried out a number of attacks in France this year, including one on the Paris office of satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in which 12 people died.

“Certain coordination of military actions, especially between Syria, Russian Federation and Iran, was planned”. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said the strikes were conducted during the night between Saturday and Sunday and targeted Islamic State’s ” strongholds”.