France carried out targeted airstrikes on Islamic State (IS) positions in Syria last weekend, marking the nation’s first military action in Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government. French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu confirmed the strikes via a post on social media platform X.
The French Ministry of Defense revealed that Rafale fighter jets and U.S.-made Reaper drones conducted the operation, dropping a total of seven bombs on two IS military targets in central Syria.
France conducted airstrikes against ISIS terrorist positions in Syria for the first time since the fall of Assad’s regime. On December 29, 2024, Rafale fighters and a Reaper drone, launched from a base in Jordan, destroyed two militant hideouts in central Syria using… pic.twitter.com/y8sbSHEK4j
— Yigal Levin (@YigalLevin) January 1, 2025
While the exact locations were not disclosed, the strikes were part of France’s involvement in the international coalition against IS, known as Operation Inherent Resolve.
Lecornu, speaking during a New Year’s visit to French U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon, reiterated France’s role in maintaining regional security. “Our armed forces remain engaged in battling terrorism in the Levant,” he stated.
The strikes followed recent U.S. military actions against IS operatives in Syria, which Washington claimed had neutralized two senior militants.
The strikes come amid significant political and security shifts in Syria following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad.
