French aircraft carrier in eastern Mediterranean ‘by end of week’
Minister says the Charles de Gaulle deployed to boost military campaign against the Islamic State group in Syria
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The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle will be operational in the eastern Mediterranean “by the end of the week,” Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told parliament on Wednesday.
The Charles de Gaulle left the southern port of Toulon earlier on Wednesday to take part in intensified air strikes against Islamic State targets.
With 26 fighter jets aboard — 18 Rafale and eight Super Etendard — France will have a total 44 aircraft in the area, including 12 based in the United Arab Emirates and six in Jordan.
In the wake of the Paris terror attacks claimed by Islamic State that killed at least 129 people last Friday, France announced a ramped up military efforts against the jihadist group’s strongholds in Syria.
On Tuesday, Paris said its raids on Raqqa in northern Syria destroyed an IS command and training center.
France is a member of the US-led coalition that has targeted IS in Syria since September 2014, expanding a campaign that began in Iraq.
The coalition has killed hundreds of IS members, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported, but has had a limited effect on its ability to hold territory.
On Monday, the Pentagon said coalition strikes on Sunday destroyed 116 fuel trucks used by the jihadists near Albu Kamal, an IS-held town in Deir Ezzor province on the border with Iraq.
The Times of Israel Community.