Hollande from Iraq: Daesh Battle Prevents Attacks at Home

Local Editor

During a visit to Iraq, French President Francois Hollande confirmed Monday that supporting military operations against Daesh [Arabic Acronym for the terrorist "ISIS" / "ISIL" group] is key to preventing terror attacks at home.

Hollande had already visited in 2014 and remains the most prominent head of state to come to Iraq since the launch two and half years ago of a US-led coalition against the extremists.

The French president, who is travelling with Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, will also stop in the autonomous northern region of Kurdistan during his one-day visit.

"Taking action against terrorism here in Iraq is also preventing acts of terrorism on our own soil," he said at a base of Iraq's elite Counter-Terrorism Service near Baghdad.

Since it joined the United States in the coalition in September 2014, French aircraft have conducted 5,700 sorties, around 1,000 strikes and destroyed more than 1,700 targets, according to defense ministry figures.

France has 14 Rafale fighter jets that are stationed in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates and taking part in coalition operations.

It also has 500 soldiers training and advising elite Iraqi forces and CAESAR artillery vehicles stationed south of Mosul to provide support for ongoing operations to retake the city.

French nationals are also among the largest contingents of foreign fighters in Daesh and security agencies now fear the disintegration of the so-called "caliphate" in Iraq and Syria will result in an influx of returning extremists bent on carrying out terror attacks in their home countries.

"He will stress the importance of continuing efforts to ensure sustainable security in the country after Daesh ['ISIS'] has been defeated and the coexistence of communities in a united and sovereign Iraq," a source in the French presidency said.

Hollande was scheduled to hold talks with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, President Fuad Masum, a Kurd, and parliament speaker Salim al-Juburi.

The French president began his trip with a visit to a base near Baghdad where French forces are training Iraq's elite Counter-Terrorism Service, the force that has spearheaded most major anti-Daesh operations in Iraq since 2014.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team