(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) France is soon to send more combat aircraft to join those already fighting ISIL in northern Iraq, Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Wednesday.
Defence sources said Le Drian indicated during parliamentary question time that six Mirage fighter-bombers would be deployed to reinforce French air operations against ISIL which are currently being assured by nine Rafale combat aircraft based in the UAE.
The Mirages would be "based in Jordan" for operations against ISIL, Le Drian told the National Assembly here.
France has exclusively undertaken a couple of missions against ISIL in Iraq and has said it will not operate in Syria because it does not want to strengthen the hand of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, which Paris blames for the conflict there and for the emergence of Islamist radical groups like ISIL and Jabat Al-Nusra, and other extremists in Syria.
France joined the United States in bombing ISIL in September and is operating under agreement with the UAE from the Al-Dhafra base there.
Since then, Britain and other nations have joined the international air effort against ISIL.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.