France hits ISIL targets in Syria a second time: Defence minister

This handout picture released on September 8, 2015 by French Defense Audiovisual Communication and Production Unit (ECPAD) shows a French army Rafale fighter taking off from a base in The Gulf as they embark for Syria on an Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) mission. AFP Photo

French warplanes carried out a second wave of strikes overnight on Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) targets in Syria, Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Oct. 9.

"Two Rafale jets dropped bombs on an IS [ISIL] training camp. The objectives were accomplished," he told Europe 1 radio, adding that further air strikes would follow.

Le Drian said "80 to 90 percent" of Russian strikes in Syria were aimed at propping up President Bashar al-Assad, Moscow's long-term ally.

"The Russian military action in Syria over the past 10 days does not target Daesh [ISIL], their main aim is (to ensure) the security of Bashar al-Assad," he said.

French President Francois Hollande said this week that failure to act in Syria risks stoking a "total war" in the Middle East.

France carried out it first air strikes in Syria on September 27.

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