France prepares to fight back: Defence minister says Isis' international army must be wiped out
Jean-Yves Le Drian showed no sign of reducing France's military commitments
France’s defence minister has vowed that Isis must be “wiped out” as the country mounts its response to three days of terror attacks.
An Isis-inspired gunman was among the three extremists who carried out co-ordinated atrocities that left 17 people dead in Paris.
Amedy Coulibaly, who killed four hostages at a kosher supermarket a day after shooting a police officer dead, had pledged allegiance to Isis, while Charlie Hebdo gunmen Said and Cherif Kouachi claimed to represent al-Qaeda in Yemen.
Following the US, France has the largest number of planes and troops involved in the coalition fighting Isis, which last year took control of large swathes of Iraq and Syria.
It has also sent about 3,500 troops and special forces to operate in the Sahel-Sahara region of northern Africa hunting down al-Qaeda affiliated militias.
A video has emerged that appears to show Amedy Coulibaly pledging his allegiance to IsisFrance intervened in Mali, its former colony, to oust Islamist militants in January 2013 and the Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian claims forces are now fighting the “same threat” on home soil.
About 10,000 soldiers and police have been deployed to sensitive areas, including synagogues, mosques and airports, in the wake of the Paris attacks.
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“It is the same enemy. Our forces are on the ground here because...for our troops it's the same fight,” Mr Le Drian toldEurope 1 radio.
“The response is inside and outside France. Islamic State (Isis) is a terrorist army with fighters from everywhere...it is an international army that has to be wiped out and that is why we are part of the coalition.”
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