France's Mirage 2000 jets. (Photo: AP)

(VOVworld) – France carried out airstrikes early on Friday against oil sites in Syria near Islamic State's stronghold of Raqqa. French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said during a visit to a military base in Jordan that France will continue to attack IS’s oil sites.

These are the first air strikes that France launched against IS in the new year as two Mirage 2000 jets took off in the early hours of Friday. Since the terror attacks on 13 november 2015 in Paris for which the IS claimed responsibility, France has stepped up its military operations against the IS.