‘Major’ anti-IS raid in progress, says France

PARIS: France said Friday its fighter jets were conducting a “major” raid in Iraq as part of the US-led coalition offensive against the IS group, days after members said the strikes were having effect. “At the moment, a major raid is taking place,” Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told BFMTV, refusing to detail the targets or the number of jets involved. He said French planes based in the UAE and more recently in Jordan had carried out “120 to 130 missions” since the start of the coalition offensive. These include intelligence gathering missions. Compared to the US, France has carried out only a handful of strikes on the militants. Paris has so far refused to join the United States in its air war against IS in Syria, but on Wednesday, President Francois Hollande said France was ready to step up its actions against IS in Iraq. Agencies