Hajer M'tırı
27 September 2015•Update: 27 September 2015
PARIS/NEW YORK
France has carried out its first airstrikes against Daesh targets in Syria, the French president's office said Sunday.
In a statement, President Francois Hollande’s office said that the attacks -- coordinated with regional partners -- were carried out using information gathered during two weeks of reconnaissance flights over Syria.
“Our country confirms its resolute commitment to the fight against the terrorist threat Daesh,” the statement said, adding: “We will strike whenever our national security is at stake.”
France has been conducting reconnaissance missions over Syria since Sept. 8.
The strikes against Daesh training camp in eastern town of Deir al-Zour came after the terrorist group "threatened the security of our country", Hollande told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York.
"We reached our goal and the whole training camp was destroyed," he said.
The French leader is in the U.S. to attend the annual "general debate" of the UN General Assembly, which will start on Monday.
Hollande said that Daesh committed "horrible acts", but Syria's embattled President Bashar al-Assad "is the main person at fault".
"The future of Syria cannot happen with Bashar al-Assad," he said.
The Syrian civil war has claimed more than 250,000 lives since 2011 according to the UN, and created a security vacuum that paved the way for extremist groups such as Daesh to gain a foothold in the region.
The Assad regime has been accused of killing tens of thousands of Syrians with indiscriminate aerial bombings, including those carried out by using toxic chemicals and barrel bombs.
France had before taken part only in anti-Daesh airstrikes in Iraq. A U.S.-led coalition has been striking the terrorist group in Syria since September.
