France Pounds ISIS Stronghold for 2nd Night

Hollande urges others to join fight against 'terrorism factory'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 17, 2015 2:44 AM CST
Updated Nov 17, 2015 4:03 AM CST
France Pounds ISIS Stronghold for 2nd Night
This image made from video released by the French Army Communications Audiovisual office (ECPAD) shows a French army jet taking off to strike at ISIS targets on Sunday.   (ECPAD/APTN via AP)

France has fired new airstrikes on the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa in Syria, days after deadly attacks in Paris linked to the group. The strikes early Tuesday destroyed a command post and training camp, a military spokesman says. France conducted sweeping raids Sunday night on Raqqa, and the French president is calling for strengthened international coordination against ISIS after attacks killed at least 129 people around Paris on Friday. Addressing lawmakers after France observed a minute of silence honoring the 129 people killed and 350 wounded, Francois Hollande said the victims came from at least 19 nations, and the international community, led by the US and Russia, must overcome their deep-seated divisions over Syria to destroy ISIS on its home turf.

"Friday's acts of war were decided and planned in Syria. They were organized in Belgium and perpetrated on our soil with French complicity with one specific goal: to sow fear and to divide us," Hollande told Parliament in a rare joint session convened at the Palace of Versailles. "Syria has become the biggest factory of terrorism the world has ever known and the international community is still too divided and too incoherent." (An ISIS video released on Monday warned that Washington, DC, could be next.)

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