“We’re not engaged in a war of civilisations, because these assassins do not represent any”.
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“We will be mobilizing the world community”.
France, the US and Russian Federation are all conducting strikes in Syria, and Hollande is pitching that better collaboration of activity could be key in destroying the group.
Hollande promise that French fighter jets would intensify their strike and said he would meet US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the coming days to ask them to pool their resources. France’s calling on the 28-nation European Union – and not North Atlantic Treaty Organisation – is politically emblematic but unlikely to reshape the coalition including the USA and the United Kingdom that is already fighting the Islamic State.
The official said the exchange included intelligence from coalition forces on “a couple of big targets that the French had been wanting to hit” and started Saturday night – about 24 hours after terror attacks linked to the group killed at least 129 people in Paris.
Much of France came to a standstill at midday for a minute’s silence to remember the dead.
Investigators have identified a Belgian national living in Syria as the possible mastermind behind the attacks, which targeted bars, restaurants, a concert hall and soccer stadium. While French officials have said they are sure Islamic State directed the Paris attacks, “we do not yet have the whole reality” of what happened, Valls said. In his address to a rare joint session of parliament, Hollande said Assad “can’t be part of the solution” in Syria, a position similar to that of the U.S. Russia, by contrast, sees Assad as a key Middle Eastern ally.
Hollande also vowed to boost spending on security, saying France would hire 5,000 more cops, add 2,500 posts to the Ministry of Justice and employ 1,000 additional customs agents.
A source close to the investigation said Belgian national Abdelhamid Abaaoud, now in Syria, was suspected of having ordered the Paris operation.
Earlier there were conflicting reports over claims that Salah Abdeslam, a Frenchman wanted in connection with Friday’s massacre, had been arrested by police in Brussels. One of his brother’s died in the Paris assault, while a third brother was arrested at the weekend but later released.
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“The struggle against it (terrorism) is underway inside France and outside it, in particular, in Syria”.
