France launches major airstrike on ISIS stronghold in Syria

Sunday evening France carried out massive airstrikes on Raqqa, Syria, the stronghold thought to be the main center of ISIS activity. The airstrikes come very shortly after ISIS claimed responsibility for the massacre in Paris this weekend that left well over 100 people dead at the hands of multiple suicide bombers and gunmen. France dropped over 20 bombs on Syria today, which comes as no surprise after the tragedy and after French officials vowed to escalate their force against the terrorist group. The bombs were targeting a command center, a training facility, an arms dealer, and a recruitment center in the terrorist-run city. The bombing is the most extensive use of force that France has demonstrated so far in the Middle East, but is still not as expansive as the airstrikes led by the U.S.

Following the Paris terrorist attack, the U.S. decided to incorporate France into its intelligence system, revealing information about targets in Syria for French airstrikes. The U.S. government plans to further open communication between France and the U.S. in order to assist France in expanding retaliation against ISIS. It is uncertain whether France will be allowed into the "Five Eyes" intelligence alliance of the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Britain, but France will certainly now be privy to much more intelligence regarding the Islamic State than it was before. French and U.S. officials have been in close contact since the Paris attack, and both are talking of "concrete steps" to unite U.S. and French militaries in the fight against ISIS.

Samantha Johnson