France vows to continue ISIL airstrikes in Iraq
Iran Press TV
Wed Sep 24, 2014 3:41PM GMT
France has vowed to continue its military operations against ISIL militants until the Iraqi army would be able to gain the upper hand in its battle against the Takfiri terrorists operating in the Middle East region.
'This military commitment has taken the form of aerial operations over Iraqi territory. We will not however deploy French ground troops. We will stay committed however for as long as is needed for the Iraqi army to gain the upper hand over Daesh,' French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Wednesday.
Valls repeated his country's call for a European Union defense strategy, saying France's involvement in Iraq was in Europe's interest.
French Defense Minster Jean-Yves Le Drian also said his country would 'continue airstrikes in the coming days.'
The remarks by France come a day after a series of bombings carried out by ISIL militants, which targeted a military base in the volatile Iraqi city of Fallujah, killed about 700 soldiers.
French President Francois Hollande announced the beginning of France's airstrikes against ISIL on Friday.
Earlier this week, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi rejected any deployment of ground foreign soldiers as part of efforts against ISIL terrorists.
The ISIL terrorists currently control parts of Syria and Iraq. They have carried out heinous crimes in the two countries, including mass executions and beheadings of people.
In Iraq, ISIL is reportedly in control of seven oil fields and large amounts of the country's wheat supplies.
According to reports, the United States and five Arab countries - Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Jordan - have carried out at least 200 airstrikes against the ISIL militants operating inside Syria and near the Iraqi border.
Germany has said it would not participate in airstrikes against ISIL militants as the US-led coalition it is a part of has been engaged in.
SZH/KA
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