French airstrikes pound Islamic State positions in Raqqa, Syria

RAQQA, Syria, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- French warplanes on Sunday conducted a series of airstrikes against Islamic State positions in the group's self-proclaimed capital of Raqqa, Syria, officials said.

The strikes come two days after IS claimed responsibility for coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris that killed at least 129 people and injured hundreds of others.

CNN quoted Mickael Soria, press adviser for France's defense minister, as saying 12 aircraft delivered at least 20 bombs that destroyed an IS command center, an arms depot and training and recruitment locations used by the militants.

France has targeted IS forces in Iraq since the U.S.-led coalition formed against the terrorist group in August 2014, but French warplanes did not begin bombing IS positions inside Syria until September 2015.

French President Francois Hollande on Friday called the Paris attacks an "act of war" and promised a "merciless" response.

The Wall Street Journal reported the United States, following the Paris attacks, began sharing "targeting packages" with France in order for French aircraft to identify IS positions with greater ease.

The U.S.-led coalition, whose effort is known as Operation Inherent Resolve, has directed many of its airstrikes against Raqqa, which IS forces declared the capital of their territory last year.

U.S. Central Command on Friday said coalition aircraft conducted eight airstrikes in Syria the day prior, including one against an IS tactical unit near Raqqa.

The Sunday airstrikes coincided with reports of French authorities searching for an eighth suspect in the Paris attacks. Seven other attackers, two of whom lived in Belgium, were killed in the city-wide assaults.