France Deploys Rafale Fighters To Bomb ISIS Positions

French Rafale fighter jets carried out air strikes on Islamic State (ISIS) targets Friday, according to media reports.

Rafale fighter jets accompanied by support planes struck the depot in northern Iraq on Friday morning, and it were “entirely destroyed,” President Francois Hollande was reported as saying.

In less than 24 hours after Hollande’s announced that he had approved a request from Baghdad for air support, at least two Rafale planes attacked the insurgents’ positions.

A statement from Hollande's office read, "This morning, our Rafale aircraft carried out a first attack against a logistics centre of ISIS. The target was hit and entirely destroyed. Other operations will be carried out in the days to come."

With the strikes, France becomes the first foreign country to publicly add military muscle to United States airstrikes against the group. Hollande ruled out French troops on the ground.

He stressed that France wouldn’t go beyond airstrikes in support of the Iraqi military or Kurdish Peshmerga forces, and wouldn’t attack targets in Syria, where the Islamic State has also captured territory.

French jets on Monday began flying reconnaissance missions over Iraq involving Rafales and an ATL2 surveillance plane, military spokesman Col. Gilles Jaron said.