First French airstrikes destroy IS training camp in Syria

The future of Syria cannot be with Bashar al-Assad, says French President Francois Hollande.

Six French jet fighters targeted and destroyed an Islamic State training camp in eastern Syria, President Francois Hollande said on Sunday, making good on a promise to go after the group that the President has said is planning attacks against several countries, including France.

The airstrikes were the first in Syria by France as it expands its mission against IS.

“The camp was totally destroyed,” Hollande said on Sunday after arriving at the United Nations, before the start of a major development summit and the U.N. General Assembly bringing together world leaders. “We’re sure there were no casualties among civilians,” he added.

“Our forces hit their target,” near the town of Deir Ezzor, said Hollande. “France hit a training camp of the terrorist group that threatened our country’s security,” he said, adding that more strikes could be ordered in the coming weeks.

The military action came as Western powers were struggling to rebuild a consensus on a new diplomatic strategy to end the war in Syria that would likely include Iran.

“France is talking to everyone and no one is being sidelined,” Hollande told a news conference at UN headquarters. Hollande has been under political pressure to take action against IS after a series of jihadist attacks in France.

In January, Islamist extremists killed 17 people in three days of shootings in Paris and in August a gunman tried to attack a high-speed train but was thwarted by passengers.

The French government has insisted that while it is part of the U.S.-led coalition, France is deciding independently who and what to hit in Syria.

Hollande is due to address the UN General Assembly on Monday, after President Barack Obama and Russian leader Vladimir Putin take the podium. “Our nation will strike each time our national security is at stake,” the statement said. The President announced earlier this month a change in French strategy expanding its airstrikes over Iraq into Syria.

France has carried out 215 airstrikes against IS extremists in Iraq as part of the U.S.-led coalition since last year, the Defense Ministry said earlier this month. But it previously held back on engaging in Syria, citing concern over playing into Assad’s hand and the need for such action to be covered by international law.

Officials now evoke “legitimate defense” as spelled out in the U.N. Charter to support strikes in Syria.

Hollande, who has ruled out sending ground troops into Syria, has cited “proof” of plans for attacks on France and the growing danger to Syrian civilians, with a large chunk of the population fleeing in a massive exodus.