ABOARD GAULLE: French warplanes from an aircraft carrier in the Gulf carried out their first strikes on Wednesday since the warship joined the fight against jihadists in Iraq this week.

“We hit a training base for Daesh in the west of Iraq,” said Marc Gander, communications adviser to Vice-Admiral Eric Chaperon, commander of the warship’s battle group.

He used an Arabic acronym to refer to the Islamic State jihadist group. The target was “close to the borders with Syria, at Abu Qaim,” said Gander.

One of the four Rafale fighter jets that took off on Wednesday morning returned having released all four of its guided missiles while another dropped two, a photographer said.

The two pilots shook hands after stepping down from their planes.

French warplanes have formed part of the US-led coalition carrying out raids against IS jihadists in Iraq for several months.

Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2015

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