Spotlight: France intensifies airstrikes on IS, countries vow to enhance security, combat terrorism

France on Sunday intensified airstrikes on the Islamic State (IS) in retaliation for the Paris terror attacks for which the group has claimed responsibility, while countries worldwide vowed to beef up security and enhance efforts to combat terrorism.

At least 132 people were killed in the almost simultaneous shootings and explosions on Friday night in several places in Paris and its suburbs, including restaurants, Bataclan concert hall and the national stadium.

In an online statement Saturday, the IS claimed responsibility for the attacks as a response to France's offensive against IS fighters in Iraq and Syria.

"MASSIVE" AIRSTRIKES ON IS

France has been bombing IS positions in Iraq and Syria for months as part of a U.S.-led operation.

French warplanes on Sunday launched their biggest raids in Syria to date, carrying out more than 30 airstrikes against positions of the IS de facto capital of al-Raqqa and its surroundings in northern Syria, amid a state of alert among IS militants in the city, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The French Defense Ministry said Sunday that French warplanes had conducted a series of "massive" airstrikes on al-Raqqa, destroying a key IS command center, a jihadist recruitment center, a munitions depot and a "terrorist" training camp.

"The raid including 10 fighter jets was launched simultaneously from the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. Twenty bombs were dropped," a statement said.

There are no reports on losses among IS militants so far.

The airstrikes came after French President Francois Hollande said Saturday that "the act of absolute barbarism" was "an act of war" organized from abroad by the IS with internal complicities.

"The attacks were prepared abroad. They mobilized a team in Belgium and benefited from complicity in France," Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on Sunday.

Most of the attackers were not known to French intelligence services, he added.

The first attacker to be named by investigators was Ismael Mostefai, a 29-year-old French citizen born southwest of Paris. He had a record of petty crimes and was known to intelligence services for having ties with extremists.

He was identified by the print from one of his fingers that was severed when his suicide vest exploded and found among the carnage at the Bataclan, where 89 people were killed after heavily armed men wearing explosive vests stormed the venue Friday night, according to judicial officials.

Another two suicide bombers were both French nationals who had been living in Belgium: 20-year-old Bilal Hadfi, who detonated himself outside the Stade de France, and 31-year-old Brahim Abdeslam, the brother of fugitive Salah Abdeslam, who blew himself up at a bar in eastern Paris, Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said Sunday.

Salah Abdeslam, 26, born in Belgium, is one of the three brothers that are believed to be linked to the attacks and is wanted by both France and Belgium. He is believed to have rented a car in Brussels that may have been used by the attackers. The third brother is believed to be among seven people detained in Belgium.

French investigators and Belgian police are working together to arrest accomplices or possible attackers who are still at large after two Belgium-registered cars were found in Paris.

TO ENHANCE SECURITY, COMBAT TERRORISM WORLDWIDE

The Paris attacks took place on the eve of the Group of 20 (G20) summit in the Mediterranean resort of Antalya, Turkey, at which leaders are expected to put out a statement on fighting terrorism later on Sunday.

Turkey has beefed up security for the Antalya summit, deploying at least 12,000 security personnel.

In an informal meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit, U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, shared strategic goals in terms of fighting the IS, but differed on tactics, Yuri Ushakov, Putin's adviser on foreign affairs, told reporters.

The United States will work with France to intensify airstrikes on the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, said Benjamin Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser.

A number of 1,500 military officers have been deployed in Paris to ensure the safety of public places mainly in the capital, according to government officials.

The French government has already deployed 10,000 soldiers across the country to ensure the security, mainly in sensitive places, such as religious centers, after three men claiming ties with terrorist cells killed 17 people at separate shootings in Paris in January.

Britain will recruit an extra 1,900 security and intelligence staffers to counter the threat of terrorist violence following the Paris attacks, British media reported on Monday.

The move would be the biggest increase in British security spending since the July 7 bombings in London that killed dozens in 2005 and will be announced by Prime Minister David Cameron later on Monday, according to the Guardian.

The European Union (EU) member states' justice and home affairs ministers will hold an extraordinary meeting on Friday in Brussels, according to a statement issued Sunday by Luxembourg, holder of the EU presidency.

The decision to convene the meeting had been jointly taken with the French authorities.

"Confronted with barbarism and terrorism, Europe stands united with France, following the tragic events in Paris," said the statement, adding that the meeting will strengthen the European response while ensuring the follow-up of the measures taken.

In the Asia-Pacific, South Korea, which has about 14,000 nationals residing in France, held another inter-agency meeting Monday to review the situation related to the Paris terror attacks and discuss ways to beef up security for its citizens abroad, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Japan will adopt measures to combat terrorism and promote cooperation with the international community in this regard, Yasuhisa Kawamura, Japan's Foreign Ministry special representative, told reporters Sunday.

Australian Ambassador to France Stephen Brady on Monday warned Australians to reconsider their travel plans to Paris as tensions remain high in the capital.

"Unless there is an absolute necessity to travel to Paris, think carefully about the security environment here," Brady said.

The Australian government is telling those flying to France to exercise precautionary measures, while some international airlines have given travelers the option to pull out of their trip altogether if they have safety concerns. Endi