French parliament approves extension of airstrikes in Syria

Paris: French National Assembly on Wednesday authorised the extension of French air force’ strikes against the Islamic State (IS) in Syria. [caption id=“attachment_2380402” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Coalition warplanes/ AP[/caption] Out of 529 deputies, 515 voted in favour of the bill to intensify France’s air strikes against IS, with four against and 10 abstentions, French National Assembly said on Wednesday on its website. “We have a responsibility, we have in particular a duty,” French Prime Minister Manuel Valls told the deputies, referring to the military intervention in Syria, Xinhua news agency reported. According to Valls, French air force, just like its Russian and American counterparts, has destroyed petroleum facilities controlled by the IS. “There is no alternative, we must annihilate Islamic State,” Valls said in his speech, stressing that “November 13 has changed the world as well as Europe.” Months after deadly attacks in January on satire magazine Charlie Hebdo that left dozens dead in Paris, calmness was broken once again in the French capital on November 13 when fresh explosions and a series of shootings, claimed by IS, killed at least 130 people and wounded scores others. IANS