CRI听力:French Aircraft Carrier to Join Anti-terrorist Fight: Hollande

The French government has announced that it's sending an aircraft carrier to the Middle East to work more closely with the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State militants.

French President Francois Hollande.

"Thanks to the Charles de Gaulle, we will have valuable information, intelligence. We will be able to, if necessary, carry out operations in Iraq with more intensity and more efficiency. The aircraft carrier will work in close collaboration with coalition forces. It will give us all the means of a projection at any time in case of increased tensions."

The announcement comes after terror attacks killed 17 in Paris last week.

One of the gunmen claimed allegiance to the Islamic State group.

Since the attacks, France has deployed 10,000 troops and 120,000 security forces to protect sensitive sites, including Jewish schools and synagogues, mosques and travel hubs.

France is already carrying out air strikes against the IS group in Iraq.

A branch of Yemen's al-Qaida has claimed responsibility for last week's attack on Paris newspaper Charlie Hebdo.

The satirical weekly itself has seen millions copies of its latest edition being sold out within hours.

However the issue has triggered demonstrations in some Muslim countries as it depicts a crying Prophet Mohammed on its cover.