France Launches Fresh Iraq Strikes as Country Mourns Hostage
France launched a fresh round of air strikes in Iraq Thursday and pledged more support for Syrian opposition forces as it upped its fight against Islamic State jihadists after the beheading of hostage Herve Gourdel.
President Francois Hollande pledged "determination, composure and vigilance" in the face of threats issued by IS militants sowing terror in Iraq and Syria, and announced flags nationwide would be flown at half-mast for three days from Friday to mourn the mountaineer's loss.
In the small, southern Alpine village of Saint-Martin-Vesubie where the 55-year-old worked as a mountain guide, distressed locals and friends prepared to take part in a silent march for him later Thursday, speaking of him with fondness, some with tears in their eyes.
"The village is utterly dejected," said Greg, who owns a vegetable stall just in front of Gourdel's office, where someone had laid a bunch of white roses against the door.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Hollande urged "national unity" during the crisis, according to government spokesman Stephane Le Foll, who also announced France had carried out air strikes in restive Iraq on Thursday morning -- the second in the space of a week.
Paris opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq but was one of the first to sign up for an active role in the U.S.-led campaign against the IS group.
It has six Rafale fighter jets and just under 1,000 soldiers based in the United Arab Emirates, and on Friday carried out its first air strike on IS targets in Iraq, destroying a logistics depot.
The abduction of Gourdel on Sunday in the restive east of Algeria and his subsequent execution at the hands of IS-linked Algerian group Jund al-Khilifa, or "Soldiers of the Caliphate," sparked global outrage and an outpouring of grief in France.
Earlier this week, the IS group issued a chilling threat to all members of the Iraqi campaign, urging militants to "kill a disbelieving American or European -- especially the spiteful and filthy French."
In response, the French presidency announced Thursday that security in public places and on transport would be strengthened, and pledged to push forward with air strikes.
Paris has stressed it will not deploy ground troops to Iraq, nor will it expand operations to Syria, as the United States has done.
U.S., Saudi and Emirati warplanes bombed oil installations in eastern Syria overnight in a bid to cut off a significant source of funding for the IS group.
But the presidency announced France would "continue and intensify its support for Syrian opposition forces who are fighting jihadist groups."
Back in Gourdel's home town of Nice, flags flew at half-mast as residents came to grips with the violent end of one of their citizens.
"I was very worried. I've been crying for two days," said Patrick, a friend and neighbor.
The mayor of the French Riviera resort, Christian Estrosi, visibly moved, told reporters that the country had been plunged into "national mourning", after he met Gourdel's relatives late Wednesday.
"It's a terrible shock" for the parents, he said, adding that the family had reacted to Gourdel's death "with dignity, anger and an unspeakable pain."
In Saint-Martin-Vesubie, mayor Henri Guige said he was "shocked."
"For me, this is a war in which they are attacking civilians, the innocent," he told Agence France-Presse.
The mountaineer was kidnapped while hiking in a national park in eastern Algeria that was once a magnet for tourists but later became a sanctuary for Islamists.
A passionate photographer and mountaineer, Gourdel liked going off the beaten track, though he was always careful, his friends said.
Close friend Laurent Geny described him as "profoundly good, very humane and who loves the Maghreb culture".
"No one deserves to go through that. But him even less because he knew the Maghreb well, he had strong links with the Maghreb," he added.
Gourdel had for years trained mountain guides in Morocco.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls vowed: "France will never give in to terror. Today, the whole country is grieving but united around our values, around that which, more than ever, defines France."
Source: Agence France Presse
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