The French Defense Ministry issued a statement Friday, confirming that
they had carried out a series of airstrikes on Thursday in northeastern
Iraq. French Rafale fighters carried out attacks on what are believed to have been a number of ISIS tunnels in the area.
The statement said the strike was carried out with coordination from the
anti-ISIS coalition, and with support from a Reaper drone provided by
an unnamed coalition member. They believe destroying the tunnels would
degrade their military capabilities.
French planes are based out of Jordan and the United Arab Emirates in
the area, and have flown 29 sorties this past week, according to the
defense ministry. Though the French raid carried out several strikes,
it’s unclear if there were any casualties or what, if anything, was
damaged.
Anti-ISIS coalition members are keen to emphasize that the recent death
of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi doesn’t mean the end of the war. With concern
about ISIS revenge attacks, especially in France, such attacks may be
provoking more violence abroad.
French Warplanes Conduct Airstrikes in Northeast Iraq
Attacks targeted ISIS tunnels around the area
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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