The French air force carried out bombing missions on ISIS targets in Raqqa, Syria, for a second day in a row in the wake of deadly Islamist extremist terror attacks in Paris.
On Monday, it targeted a command center, recruitment center, ammunition storage base and a training camp, the French military said.
Also on Monday, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazaneuve said “war” had been declared on France, and that “anybody who attacks the Republic, the Republic will fight back.”
“It is not they who will destroy the Republic. The Republic will destroy them,” he said.
France has been part of the U.S.-led coalition of nations fighting ISIS from the air, but after Friday’s attacks that killed 129 people and wounded more than 350 more, France has flown an increased number of sorties — re-inserting itself into the battle.
ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attacks, which France’s President described as “an act of war.”
De facto ISIS capital
ISIS claims Raqqa as the capital of its so-called caliphate. On Sunday French airstrikes hit a command center, a recruitment center, an ammunition storage base and a training camp for the terror group, said Mickael Soria, press adviser for France’s defense minister.
Twelve aircraft, including 10 fighter jets, were involved in the airstrikes, Soria said. Twenty bombs were dropped, he said, and all of the targets were destroyed.
An ISIS media wing claimed the sites had been abandoned before they were hit and said there were no casualties.
Military analyst: Strikes are ‘symbolic’
France has been conducting airstrikes against ISIS targets in Syria since September as part of a U.S.-led coalition.
A senior Obama administration official said that the United States was “working closely with the French to develop targets.”
The U.S. military likely handed over a list of targets the coalition was planning to strike to the French to let them fly the sorties, said Ret. Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, a military analyst. “These target packages were already in folders, as they’re called, and I’m sure the central command handed them over to the French fighters to attack for the symbolism of France being back in the fight.”
The timing of the new airstrikes likely is no coincidence, analysts said.
“Clearly, it’s a military activity, but it really sends a very strong political message, and it’s all for internal consumption within France,” said retired Maj. Gen. James “Spider” Marks, a CNN military analyst. “This is very visceral. The types of targets they strike right now really are symbolic. From the French perspective, something has to be done.”
What impact did airstrikes have?
What impact did the airstrikes have?
It’s hard to know what’s happening on the ground inside Raqqa. Since ISIS took over, the city has become increasingly isolated — with an activist group known as Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently providing outsiders with a harrowing glimpse of the city’s transformation.
On Sunday, the activist collective said that the city appeared to be bracing for an attack even before the French airstrikes began.
ISIS fighters in Raqqa had expected retaliatory airstrikes and evacuated key facilities, including their headquarters, operation and security buildings, a member of Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently said.
Streets were empty, the activists said, markets were less crowded than usual and sheikhs in mosques said they expected the city to be struck.
The airstrikes hit several key ISIS facilities, including the city’s stadium, activists said, used by ISIS as both its headquarters and a jail. It was not immediately clear what the damage was. So far, according to Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, there have been no reports of civilian casualties.
The ISIS media wing Amaaq also said the sites hit by airstrikes had been abandoned and that no one had been killed in the airstrikes. CNN has not independently confirmed the groups’ reports.
ISIS in Raqqa was previously the target of retaliatory airstrikes in February. Two days after news emerged that the group had burned a captive Jordanian pilot to death, the Middle Eastern nation hit back. At the time, ISIS posted photos of the destruction from the Jordanian airstrikes and the activist Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 10 militants were killed.