Speaking to reporters after an emergency security meeting Friday, Hollande stressed the worldwide nature of the fight against IS, saying that even if it was France that was attacked on July 14, it was the world that was targeted.
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French President Francois Hollande has said that France will send heavy artillery to Iraq to support the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
France will supply the Iraqi army with artillery next month to assist in the fight against the IS, but will not send ground troops.
Hollande also outlined plans for expanded military deployment within France this summer and defended his interior minister’s handling of the Nice police presence.
“We have advice to give and training to carry out, but it is not our soldiers fighting on the ground in Syria and Iraq”.
Hollande spoke after a meeting with defence and security officials regarding the truck attack that left 84 people killed and over 300 injured during Bastille Day celebrations in Nice, Efe news reported.
The president also reiterated that the French aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle would be deployed in the region in late September to help in ongoing operations against ISIL, also known as ISIS.
He also indicated that the number of military personnel on the streets throughout France on anti-terror duty would rise to 10,000 from the 7,000 planned. The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation said Thursday July 21, 2016 that it raised almost $45 million at a celebrity-filled auction gala Wednesday night in Saint Tropez for environmental action, but is donating a portion to a French anti-terrorism charity in the light of last week’s attacks. Stressing the worldwide nature of the fight against ISIS, Hollande said, “Even if was France that was attacked July 14, it’s the world that was targeted”.
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The investigation into the attack in Nice hasn’t established a clear link between the perpetrator, suspected accomplices and Islamic State.
