Washington Examiner – Curt Mills
France launched “massive” airstrikes on the de facto Islamic State capital of Raqqa, Syria, on Sunday, two days after the terrorist group was blamed for a series of attacks in Paris that left more than 120 dead.
The operation was carried out in coordination with U.S. forces. French officials say fighter jets dropped 20 bombs, hitting an ISIS command post, a jihadi recruitment center, a munitions depot, and a training camp.
“The raid … including 10 fighter jets, was launched simultaneously from the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. Twenty bombs were dropped,” the French Defense Ministry said in a statement.
At least 2 jihadi sites have been destroyed, the Associated Press reported.
Raqqa has been under complete ISIS control since August 2014, when the last Syrian government military installation was overrun.
France’s quick response was foreshadowed Friday night, when French President Francois Hollande said his country would wage a “pitiless” war against the Islamic State. French authorities said they have evidence the Islamic State was behind the attack, and the Obama administration said soon afterwards that it had no information to contradict France’s assessment.
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