France has begun major strikes on Islamic State in Raqqah. 10 jets bombed 20 targets including: training camps & munitions depot.
Activist from Raqqa reports that as of yet, there are no civilian casualties as a result of French bombing.
Raqqa no Civilian got killed or Wounded by the Warplanes Airstrikes until now according to the Raqqa Hospitals. France is using precision bombs likely some of ours hence no collateral damage.
French planes took off from Jordan and the UAE, the raids were also in coordination with the US. The US is giving France the strike targets. It cannot be forgotten that Russia was purposely omitting ISIS targets and concentrated on other anti Assad forces but did targets did not include Raqqah. Russia was and is using dumb bombs and cluster munitions, something no other country uses except Syria and Iran.
*** Of particular note, it is apparent that Barack Obama would not give the GO order to our own air campaign, but rather to France. One must ask why?
WSJ: The U.S. is expanding intelligence sharing with France and has agreed to speed the delivery of detailed targeting information in support of French retaliatory strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq, officials said.
In response to Friday’s coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris, the U.S. has started sharing so-called “targeting packages” with France, identifying Islamic State targets for strikes by French warplanes. It also plans to roll back restrictions that impede intelligence sharing to make it easier for France to intensify its air campaign.
Officials said the changes amount to giving France a seat at the table alongside America’s most-trusted intelligence-sharing partners in developing future target packages for strikes against Islamic State.
France has fighter aircraft positioned at bases in the region, in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, which could be used in retaliatory strikes against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq once targets have been identified.
Defense officials said Secretary of Defense Ash Carter has been an advocate of easing restrictions on intelligence sharing with France.
After Mr. Carter spoke on Sunday with French Minister of Defense Jean-Yves Le Drian, their second call since the attacks in Paris on Friday night, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said the defense chiefs “agreed on concrete steps the U.S. and French militaries should take to further intensify our close cooperation in prosecuting a sustained campaign” against Islamic State.
In his statement, Mr. Cook didn’t spell out what those “concrete steps” would entail.
France isn’t part of the so-called Five Eyes intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Britain and the U.S. Under the alliance, the five countries have committed to sharing the signals intelligence they collect.
In the past, French officials have pressed their American and British counterparts to allow Paris to join the Five Eyes intelligence alliance. More recently, French officials have instead pressed the U.S. for intelligence-sharing benefits on par with the countries in the alliance, particularly in the area of counterterrorism.
