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France strikes IS in Iraq, plans coalition meeting: minister

Xinhua, January 14, 2016 Adjust font size:

France launched a new air strike overnight against an Islamic State's telecommunication and propaganda centers in Iraq's second main town of Mosul, Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian announced Thursday.

"We struck last night in Mosul on a Daesh telecommunications center, a propaganda center. We can say today is that Daesh is retreating in Iraq but we have to be careful," Le Drian told the news channel BFMTV.

France which had intensified air strikes against IS in Syria and Iraq following the deadly November 13 terror attacks, had destroyed seven targets of Daesh in Mosul, its stronghold in Iraq since Monday, according to French minister.

Defense ministers of seven members of United States-led coalition (France, USA, Australia, Germany, UK, Italy and the Netherlands) combating IS would gather in Paris next Wednesday "to see how we can intensify our efforts in Iraq and Syria," Le Drian said.

France was the first European country to join the coalition in September 2014 with the launch of Operation Chammal at the request of Iraqi authorities. Baghdad had asked for an enhancement of military support for local forces to combat IS, which is bent on imposing its version of Islamic law in Iraq and Syria. Endit