法国空袭伊拉克北部

France says it has carried out airstrikes in northern Iraq, as part of stepped-up military operations against Islamic State militants.

According to the French Defence Ministry, Mirage 2000N and 2000D jets took off from a Jordanian military base, targeting an assembly site of explosive devices in the region of Al Qaim in Iraq. The action took place with ground support from the Iraqi army and forms part of Operation Chammal, which began in September 2014 in Iraq and was extended to Syria in September 2015.

It is limited to airstrikes and French President Francois Hollande has said that ground troops will not be used. France's parliament voted last week to step up the strikes against the extremist group in the wake of the Paris attacks that Islamic State has claimed.