Syria
Screengrab from a French defense ministry video shows moments before French warplanes carried out a strike against suspected Islamic State (ISIS) positions on December 29, 2024. Photo: Sebastien Lecornu/X
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - France has carried out airstrikes against suspected Islamic State (ISIS) positions in Syria, its defense minister said on Monday.
“On Sunday, French air assets carried out targeted strikes against Daesh [ISIS] sites on Syrian soil,” Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on X.
The defense ministry told AFP that French fighter jets and US drones “dropped a total of seven bombs” on ISIS targets in central Syria.
The strike was the first carried out by French forces in Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on December 8 to a coalition of rebels spearheaded by the Islamist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
“Our armies remain engaged in the fight against terrorism in the Levant,” Lecornu stressed.
France has been an integral part of the US-led Operation Inherent Resolve, which assists Iraqi, Kurdish, and local Syrian forces in the fight against ISIS.
In mid-December, the Pentagon said it more than doubled the number of US troops in Syria from approximately 900 to nearly 2,000.
US troops in Syria have provided the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), their partner force in northeast Syria (Rojava), with training and military support.
They have also recently carried out frequent strikes against ISIS targets in the country to prevent the group from exploiting a security vacuum after the fall of the regime.
“On Sunday, French air assets carried out targeted strikes against Daesh [ISIS] sites on Syrian soil,” Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on X.
The defense ministry told AFP that French fighter jets and US drones “dropped a total of seven bombs” on ISIS targets in central Syria.
The strike was the first carried out by French forces in Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on December 8 to a coalition of rebels spearheaded by the Islamist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
“Our armies remain engaged in the fight against terrorism in the Levant,” Lecornu stressed.
France has been an integral part of the US-led Operation Inherent Resolve, which assists Iraqi, Kurdish, and local Syrian forces in the fight against ISIS.
In mid-December, the Pentagon said it more than doubled the number of US troops in Syria from approximately 900 to nearly 2,000.
US troops in Syria have provided the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), their partner force in northeast Syria (Rojava), with training and military support.
They have also recently carried out frequent strikes against ISIS targets in the country to prevent the group from exploiting a security vacuum after the fall of the regime.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment