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| France launches first air strikes on IS in Iraq | France launches first air strikes on IS in Iraq |
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| French jets have carried out their first strikes against Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq, the office of President Francois Hollande says. | French jets have carried out their first strikes against Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq, the office of President Francois Hollande says. |
| A statement said planes had attacked an IS logistics depot in north-east Iraq. | |
| France was already carrying out reconnaissance flights over Iraq and providing weapons to Kurdish fighters. | France was already carrying out reconnaissance flights over Iraq and providing weapons to Kurdish fighters. |
| President Hollande said on Thursday he had agreed to an Iraqi request for air support, but it would only target IS in Iraq and not in neighbouring Syria. | |
| He also insisted that he would not send ground troops. | He also insisted that he would not send ground troops. |
| On Friday, Mr Hollande's office said Rafale planes had carried out the attack and "the objective was hit and completely destroyed". | |
| It did not give details on the type of material at the depot, nor its exact location. | |
| "Other operations will follow in the coming days," the statement added. | |
| President Hollande visited Iraq last week and Paris hosted an international conference on the crisis on Monday. | |
| The jihadist group IS - which is also known as Isis or Isil - controls large areas of Syria and northern Iraq, and the US has carried out more than 170 air strikes against it in Iraq since mid-August. | |
| On Thursday, the US Senate approved President Barack Obama's plan to arm and train moderate Syrian rebels to fight IS. | |
| US air strikes are now expected in Syria, but Mr Obama has pledged to not authorise a ground operation in either country. |