France first attacked IS in Syria after Assad was overthrown

“Our armed forces continue to participate in the fight against terrorism in the Levant,” French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu announced on social networks on December 31, referring to the term for the area along the coast. eastern Mediterranean. “The French Air Force on December 29 conducted precisely targeted raids against the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) on Syrian territory.”

The French Ministry of Defense said that the country’s Air Force’s Rafale fighters and MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) dropped a total of 7 bombs on two IS military targets in central Syria, but failed. Mention the impact of the attack.

This is the first time France has bombed IS targets in Syria since the government of former president Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by the opposition in early August.

The interim government in Syria has not commented.

France has joined the international coalition against IS since 2014, but initially limited its activities only to Iraq. A year later, this country launched air strikes against IS targets in Syria.

France has deployed soldiers to the Middle East region, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to participate in the campaign.

The collapse of Mr. Assad’s government has significantly changed the situation in Syria, causing observers to worry about the possibility of IS taking advantage of this moment to rise. The organization still exists in both Syria and Iraq despite losing most of the area of ​​control in 2019 after 6 years of existence.

The US said in mid-month that it had quietly increased the number of soldiers stationed in Syria to about 2,000 many months ago, even though it once claimed to only deploy 900 soldiers there. Central Command (CENTCOM), the unit in charge of US forces’ operations in the Middle East, said Washington wants to ensure “IS does not take advantage of the current situation to rebuild its forces in central Syria”.

CENTCOM announced on December 30 that US forces had struck an IS truck carrying weapons in Deir ez-Zor province in Syria, killing two IS members and injuring one gunman.

In addition to Syria, the US is also deploying about 2,500 soldiers in neighboring Iraq to fight against IS remnants.