French Warplanes Launch Airstrikes Against IS Capital in Syria

Damascus (PNA/Xinhua) — French warplanes carried out over 30 airstrikes against positions of the Islamic State (IS) de facto capital of al-Raqqa in northern Syria late Sunday, a monitor group reported.

The strikes targeted the city of al-Raqqa and its surroundings, amid a state of alert among IS militants in the city, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

There is no report on losses among IS militants yet.

The French Defense Ministry said Sunday that French warplanes conducted a series of “massive” airstrikes on al-Raqqa, destroying a key IS command center and a 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.

Sunday’s airstrikes came as part of the French retaliation against the bloody attacks in Paris on Friday, in which gunmen and bombers with the IS attacked restaurants, a concert hall and a sport stadium, leaving at least 129 people and injuring hundreds more. (PNA/Xinhua) JMC/EBP