France hits back, striking IS in Syria after Paris carnage

PARIS: French warplanes pounded the Islamic State group's de facto capital in Syria on Sunday, in the first such strikes since a wave of coordinated attacks claimed by the jihadists left 129 people dead in Paris.

As the nation prepared to mourn the victims of the carnage in a minute of silence on Monday, a dozen warplanes dropped 20 bombs on IS targets in the Islamists' stronghold of Raqa, signalling the French government's resolve in its fight against the group.