France deploys aircraft carrier in Arabian Gulf for ISIL fight

A French Navy Rafale fighter jet taking off from the the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the Gulf on February 23, 2015. PatrickBaz/AFP Photo

ABOARD THE CHARLES DE GAULLE // A French aircraft carrier launched operations in the Arabian Gulf on Monday as Paris stepped up its participation in the US-led military campaign against ISIL.

Four Rafale fighter jets took off in the morning from the Charles de Gaulle as it sailed about 200 kilometres off the coast north of Bahrain.

Seven weeks after extremist attacks killed 17 people in Paris, defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian vowed France would face the militant threat head-on.

“This threat, jihadist terrorism, wants to reach our citizens, our interests, our values. France’s response will be total firmness,” Mr Le Drian said as he launched operations aboard the aircraft carrier.

France launched Operation Chammal in support of the US-led coalition against ISIL in September.

The Charles de Gaulle left its home port in Toulon on January 13 for a five-month mission that will include eight weeks in the Arabian Gulf working alongside the USS Carl Vinson as part of the coalition efforts against ISIL.

The French carrier will then travel to India, where it is due to take part in exercises in mid-April.

Carrying 12 Rafale and nine Super Etendard fighters, the carrier will significantly increase French air capabilities in the region.

France has nine Rafales in the UAE and six Mirage fighters in Jordan operating in Iraq, along with a maritime patrol and a refuelling aircraft.

The carrier’s deployment will halve the time it takes for planes to reach Iraq for strikes against ISIL from the base in the UAE.

French warplanes have carried out about 100 reconnaissance missions and the same number of strike raids in Iraq since mid-September, defence ministry sources said.

France is, along with Australia, one of the main contributors to the 32-member coalition effort aside from the United States, which is carrying out the bulk of strikes.

The coalition has carried out more than 2,000 strikes since August, with France and other Western countries conducting operations over Iraq and several Arab nations including the UAE taking part in strikes over Syria.

The campaign aims to support forces in Iraq and Syria, including rebel fighters and Kurdish forces, fighting ISIL on the ground and to hit infrastructure seized by the extremist group such as oil facilities.

“Air support ... for our Iraqi and Kurdish allies has helped curb the territorial expansion of [ISIL] and stabilise the front lines. This was our first objective and it has been attained,” Mr Le Drian said.

While excluding the deployment of ground combat troops, coalition countries have also sent trainers to work with Iraqi forces.

US military officials have said they want Iraqi forces to launch an offensive to retake Mosul from ISIL in April or May.

The Charles de Gaulle strike group also includes an attack submarine, a French anti-aircraft frigate and the HMS Kent, a British anti-submarine frigate. In total some 2,700 sailors are involved in the mission, including 2,000 on the carrier itself.

It arrived in the Arabian Gulf on February 15 after a month of operations in the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea and in the Gulf of Aden.

* Agence France-Presse