Middle East

France to deploy largest warship in mission against ISIL

The nuclear-powered Charles de Gaulle is the flagship of the French navy. PHOTO: AFP

France is sending its largest warship to join operations against ISIL in Syria and Iraq.

Its involvement in the campaign will shorten the time it takes for French jets to carry out air strikes.

France has been targeting ISIL in Iraq as part of the US-led coalition since September 2014. In September this year French forces began air strikes in Syria.
The Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier has already been deployed against ISIL.

The ship – France’s only such vessel – was used as a base for French jets in the Gulf from February to April.

France is currently using six Mirage jets stationed in Jordan and six Rafale jets in the United Arab Emirates to target ISIL.

The aircraft carrier can hold up to 40 aircraft and support 100 flights a day.

The French President, Francois Hollande, described the deployment as “a rational choice” which would “allow us to be more efficient in coordination with our allies”.

French officials have described the air strikes on ISIL as self defence, after Islamist gunmen killed 17 people in twin attacks in Paris at the start of the year.
Since that time, French fighter jets have carried out 271 strikes in 1,285 aerial missions across Iraq.

Only two known strikes have been carried out by France in Syria, targeting an ISIL training camp in the east of the country at the end of September.

The Charles de Gaulle carrier is usually accompanied by several frigates, a refuelling ship and an attack submarine.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Most Popular

AMCNEWS is not responsible for content on external web pages being linked to.

Reproduction of material from AMCNEWS for use elsewhere is prohibited without prior agreement.

Copyright © 2015. All content is copyrighted. © AMCNEWS. AMCNEWS works by the Code of Ethics rules for good press.

To Top