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French fighter jets strike Islamic State supply depot in northeastern Iraq French fighter jets strike Islamic State supply depot in northeastern Iraq
(about 3 hours later)
BAGHDAD — France conducted its first airstrike Friday against Islamic State targets in Iraq, the French president said, joining the United States as part of an emerging international military coalition against the militants.BAGHDAD — France conducted its first airstrike Friday against Islamic State targets in Iraq, the French president said, joining the United States as part of an emerging international military coalition against the militants.
Rafale fighter jets destroyed an Islamic State supply depot in northeastern Iraq, President Francois Hollande said in a statement. He said other French operations would follow in “coming days.”Rafale fighter jets destroyed an Islamic State supply depot in northeastern Iraq, President Francois Hollande said in a statement. He said other French operations would follow in “coming days.”
President Obama has sought to rally a broad international alliance to counter the extremist group, which has claimed large amounts of territory in Iraq and Syria. The U.S.-led efforts have received wide-ranging pledges of support, but France is the first to join the United States in conducting airstrikes.President Obama has sought to rally a broad international alliance to counter the extremist group, which has claimed large amounts of territory in Iraq and Syria. The U.S.-led efforts have received wide-ranging pledges of support, but France is the first to join the United States in conducting airstrikes.
The presence of France in the air attacks has added political significance. France strongly opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and remained generally on the sidelines in the following years when other countries sent troops to back up American forces as Iraq descended into chaos.The presence of France in the air attacks has added political significance. France strongly opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and remained generally on the sidelines in the following years when other countries sent troops to back up American forces as Iraq descended into chaos.
The French parliament will be informed next week about the conditions of the commitment of French forces alongside Iraqi government forces and Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq, Hollande’s statement added. As international efforts against the Islamic State take shape, the jihadist organization appears to have stepped up efforts to demonstrate its reach, launching a coordinated attack on a Shiite neighborhood of Baghdad on Thursday night, with multiple bombings continuing on Friday.
The strikes came after a night of violence in the Iraqi capital. The Islamic State again demonstrated its capability to target mostly Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad. It also released its latest propaganda video, entitled “Flames of War,” a montage of operations in Iraq and Syria featuring praise for the group’s suicide bombings and fighting prowess.
Suicide bombers and mortar fire struck the Shiite district of Kadhimiyah overnight, officials said. Later, at least 17 people were killed in three explosions in other Shiite areas of the capital, according to an Associated Press count. The film begins with a clip of President Obama speaking at Fort Bragg, N.C., as he withdrew the last U.S. troops from Iraq. “Iraq’s future will be in the hands of their people,” Obama says. “They lied,” interjects the narrator.
The radical Sunni Islamic State militants consider Shiite Muslims to be heretics. Shiite militias, with close ties to Shiite power Iran, also have joined battles against the Islamic State in northern Iraq. In Baghdad, at least 24 people were killed and 90 injured in a combined suicide bombing and mortar attack on the Shiite district of Kadhimyah overnight Thursday, said Saad Maan, a spokesman for the Baghdad Operations Command, in a televised news conference Friday.
Iran, meanwhile, is caught in a complicated position: Opposing the Islamic State, but rejecting a role in a U.S.-led international force lining up against the militants. He described the attack as an attempted jailbreak. Later, at least 17 people were killed in three explosions in other Shiite areas of the capital, according to an Associated Press count. The radical Sunni militants of the Islamic State, a group also known as ISIS or ISIL, consider Shiite Muslims to be heretics.
The most important Shiite religious figure in Iraq, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, issued a message Friday warning that outside military help against the Islamic State cannot spill over to greater influence over Iraq’s political affairs, which are dominated by Shiites. Earlier this week, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, questioned whether Western powers seek to strengthen their grip in the region as part of the Islamic State fight. Ahmed Ali, an Iraq analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, described the overnight attack as “very significant.”
“Even if Iraq is in need of help from its brothers and friends in fighting black terrorism, maintaining the sovereignty and independence of its decisions is of the highest importance,” said a statement by the Iranian-born Sistani. The statement was read by Sistani’s spokesman, Abdul Mehdi Karbalai, said during a sermon in the Iraqi city of Karbala. “It is the first infantry-like, complex and penetrating attack in Baghdad city by ISIS since the fall of Mosul in June of this year,” he said in a note on the organization’s Web site.
However, even though Shiite neighborhoods are bearing the brunt of Islamic State reprisals, Shiite militias closely linked to Iran have pushed back against U.S. intervention. Militiamen loyal to Moqtada al-Sadr, a Shiite cleric who heads the Mahdi Army militia, are expected to hold rallies against foreign intervention on Saturday morning. His militia, which was formed to fight U.S. occupation after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, and Kitaeb Hezbollah, a group designated a terrorist organization by the United States, have said they will withdraw from their front-line battles against the Islamic State if the United States intervenes.
The most influential Shiite religious figure in Iraq, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, warned Friday that outside military help against the Islamic State must not lead to greater influence over Iraq’s political affairs.
Earlier this week, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, questioned whether Western powers seek to strengthen their grip in the region as part of the fight against the Islamic State.
“Even if Iraq is in need of help from its brothers and friends in fighting black terrorism, maintaining the sovereignty and independence of its decisions is of the highest importance,” Sistani said in a sermon. The sermon was read by Sistani’s spokesman, Abdul Mehdi Karbalai, in his mosque in the Iraqi city of Karbala.
The United States has conducted at least 176 strikes since Aug. 8, the U.S. Central Command said Thursday. The strikes expanded to sites closer to Baghdad this week in line with Obama’s pledge to strike the militants wherever they are based.The United States has conducted at least 176 strikes since Aug. 8, the U.S. Central Command said Thursday. The strikes expanded to sites closer to Baghdad this week in line with Obama’s pledge to strike the militants wherever they are based.
“The French were our very first ally, and they are there again for us,” Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters during a visit to France on Friday, the AP reported. “It just reminds me why these relationships really matter.”“The French were our very first ally, and they are there again for us,” Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters during a visit to France on Friday, the AP reported. “It just reminds me why these relationships really matter.”
The French parliament will be informed next week about the conditions of the commitment of French forces alongside Iraqi government forces and Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq, Hollande’s statement said.
Mustafa Salim contributed to this report.Mustafa Salim contributed to this report.