#PARIS ATTACK : France launches airstrikes on Islamic State capital
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.
“These were French strikes but they were conducted within the coalition. We helped with the target list,” a Pentagon source said.
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At least 2 jihadi sites have been destroyed.
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.
The attack has led to calls for a stepped-up battle plan against the terror organization.
Democrats have generally followed President Obama’s lead, resisting calls for ground troops.
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Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said Saturday, however, that U.S. airstrikes alone are “not sufficient” any longer given the group’s now-demonstrated ability to carry out violence in countries far away from ISIS territory.
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