US warplanes hit an Islamic State group training camp in Iraq Thursday in their first strike not directly supporting Iraqi or Kurdish forces as France announced it will join the air war. The jihadists posted their latest video of a Western hostage, British journalist John Cantlie. Unlike previous grisly postings of two American journalists and a British aid worker being beheaded, Cantlie was only shown speaking to camera in the style of a news report.
The French move, which President Francois Hollande said would be limited to Iraq, came as Washington was set to approve plans to train and arm Syrian rebels in the fight against IS, which has gained more ground in recent days. The strike on the training camp in northern Iraq killed fighters, as well as destroying buildings and vehicles, US Central Command said. A US military officer told AFP that the strike, south-east of Iraq's IS-controlled second city Mosul, was the first of its kind since the US air campaign began on August 8.
About 40 jihadist fighters were on the ground at the time of the strike, the officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity. A second air raid damaged an IS ammunition depot south-east of Baghdad, Central Command said. The United States has now carried out 176 air strikes against IS in Iraq, as Hollande announced Thursday France will join the campaign "within a short timeframe."
But he underlined there would be no French strikes against IS targets in Syria such as those US President Barack Obama authorised last week. "I decided to respond to the request of the Iraqi authorities to offer aerial support," Hollande told reporters. "As soon as we have identified targets, we will act... within a short timeframe," he said.
"We will not go further than that. There will be no ground troops and we will only intervene in Iraq." France began reconnaissance flights over Iraq on Monday from a base in the United Arab Emirates. Britain too has conducted surveillance flights but has so far held back from launching strikes. US Secretary of State John Kerry welcomed the move by France, "one of the countries that we've been counting in on this."
The US Senate was expected to back a plan later Thursday to train and equip anti-jihadist rebels in Syria, a key part of Obama's strategy against IS. Who exactly will benefit from the programme is unclear, as the rebels battling President Bashar al-Assad lack a clear command structure and range from secular nationalists to al Qaeda-backed extremists. IS holds significant territory in Syria and seized large areas of Iraq in a lightning offensive in June, declaring a cross-border "caliphate" and imposing its brutal interpretation of Islamic law.
It has carried out widespread atrocities. including crucifixions and reportedly selling women into slavery, and in recent weeks beheaded two US reporters and a British aid worker in chilling online videos. The group posted a new video on YouTube showing British journalist Cantlie in an orange jump-suit like those worn by the hostages in the previous postings, but with no immediate threat to execute him. In the footage, Cantlie promises to reveal in a series of programmes the "truth" about the jihadist group.
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