MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The French Air Force carries out up to 20 percent of the international coalition’s airstrikes against the Islamic State (ISIL, or Daesh in Arabic) extremist group, French Rear Adm. Rene-Jean Crignola, aboard the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, said.
"We are involved in almost 20% of the coalition’s strikes, with the support of the ground forces, especially in the battle in [the city of] Ramadi in Iraq," Crignola told the BFMTV channel in an interview on Tuesday.
A US-led international coalition, which includes France, has been conducting airstrikes against Daesh positions in Iraq since August 2014, later expanding the attacks to include Daesh targets in Syria. France's intensified its campaign in Syria following a series of terrorist attacks in Paris that claimed 130 lives on November 13.
The activities of the Daesh are prohibited in Russia and the United States among other countries.