France begins air strikes on Islamic State

President Francois Hollande, who ordered the first air strikes against IS (Islamic State), has said that Rafale fighter jets have “entirely destroyed” a logistics depot in the northeast of the country.

Four early morning attacks hit the town of Zumar, one of the areas heavily controlled by the IS fighters, and reports are coming back that dozens of extremist fighters were killed in the attack, according to a spokesman in Iraq military forces.

“Other operations will follow in the coming days with the same goal – to weaken this terrorist organisation and come to the aid of the Iraqi authorities,” Mr. Hollande stated. “There are always risks in taking up a responsibility. I reduced the risks to a minimum.”

The air strikes comes a day after President Hollande said he had agreed to an Iraqi request for air support, but he said France would only target IS in Iraq and not in Syria. He also said that France would not be sending ground troops into the country.

The US military has already conducted over 176 air strikes in Iraq since August 8.