France To Send 6 Mirage Jets To Jordan Against Islamic State

Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told a weekly cabinet meeting that the deployment of the six fighters would "strengthen our presence in this theater of operations," according to government spokesman Stephane Le Foll.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls had already on Sunday announced the deployment of the fighters to Jordan, to join forces against the extremist group in Iraq but the arrival of the warplanes was expected at the end of the month.

France already has nine Rafale fighter jets in the United Arab Emirates as it participates in US-led airstrikes in Iraq.

Paris has however declined to take part in operations in Syria, where IS has also overrun large swathes of territory.

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