France hits back, striking ISIS in Syria

In the first strikes since Friday’s carnage which killed at least 129 and wounded more than 350, French warplanes bombed IS targets in Raqa, the Islamists’ de facto capital in Syria. The raid destroyed an IS command post, jihadist recruitment centre, a munitions depot and a “terrorist” training camp, the defence ministry said.

The operation was conducted in coordination with US forces by a dozen aircraft which took off from Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, it said. President Francois Hollande has denounced the Paris attacks — the worst in the country’s history — as an “act of war” and vowed to hit back against Islamic State “without mercy”.

French police said they were seeking a “dangerous” suspect, 26-year-old Salah Abdeslam, who is said to be one of three brothers linked to the slaughter. He is believed to be either on the run or one of the gunmen who died during the attacks, security sources said. He lived in the poor immigrant Brussels neighbourhood of Molenbeek, where Belgian police made several arrests in connection with the Paris attacks.

French police have carried out “more than 150” raids on suspected Islamists since the attacks on Paris, Prime Minister Manuel Valls said. “Thirteen raids were carried out around Lyon, which led to five arrests and the seizure of “an arsenal of weapons, including a rocket launcher, a Kalashnikov assault rifle, bulletproof vests, handguns and combat gear,” the source said.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said that authorities believe new terror attacks are being planned in France and in other European countries following the carnage in Paris. “We know that operations were being prepared and are still being prepared, not only against France but other European countries too,” he said.