ISIS bombed by France in new revenge airstrikes

  17 November 2015    Read: 1494
ISIS bombed by France in new revenge airstrikes
France has struck at the heart of Islamic State in a series of overnight bombings as the military continue to hit back following the Paris terror attacks.
The new strikes, which were carried out in the stronghold of ISIS in Raqqa, Syria, targeted a command centre and a recruitment centre for jihadists.

Carried out overnight, the strike included 10 fighter jets which were launched from the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.

It comes after French president Francois Hollande declared yesterday that France was "at war".

On Sunday the French military dropped 20 bombs in Raqqa, Syria in the first wave of airstrikes.

And then a US-led operation took out key oil transport routes, which are suspected to bring in more than $1million a day for the terror group.

"France is at war," Hollande told a joint session of parliament at the Palace of Versailles yesterday, promising to increase funds for national security and strengthen anti-terrorism laws in response to the suicide bombings and shootings that killed 129.

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"We`re not engaged in a war of civilisations, because these assassins do not represent any. We are in a war against jihadist terrorism which is threatening the whole world," he told a packed, sombre chamber.

Parliamentarians had given Hollande a standing ovation before spontaneously singing the "Marseillaise" national anthem in a show of political unity after the worst atrocity France has seen since World War Two.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for Friday`s coordinated attacks, saying they were in retaliation for France`s involvement in US-backed air strikes in Iraq and Syria.

Hollande pledged that France would intensify the assaults on Islamic State, and said he would meet US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the coming days to urge them to pool their resources.

"We must combine our forces to achieve a result that is already too late in coming," the president said.

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