| FOREIGNPOLICY.COM |
France launched punitive airstrikes against the Islamic State on Sunday night in response to a coordinated set of bombings and shootings on Friday night that killed 129 people across Paris. Residents of the Islamic State's de facto capital, Raqqa, Syria, "said they counted at least 30 bombs, which they said hit, among other things, a local football stadium, a museum and medical facilities," the Washington Post reports. The United States also conducted airstrikes against the Islamic State's oil smuggling network this morning, which had previously not been targeted because of concerns about civilian casualties. French authorities also conducted a series of raids on suspected Islamic extremists, arresting 23 people; police actions are also underway in Brussels, where some of the perpetrators of the Paris violence are believed to have prepared for the attack.
The attack was quickly tied back to the Islamic State, which asserted its responsibility. Reports have noted that intelligence from multiple countries suggested the Islamic State would try to attack Paris, which contributed to France's decision to begin carrying out airstrikes in Syria on Oct. 8. At least one of the eight attackers, who has been identified as Omar Ismael Mostefai, a French citizen and petty criminal living in Chartres, may have traveled to Syria in 2012. Others seem to have been in communication with members of the Islamic State. A Syrian passport belonging to a refugee who arrived in Greece on Oct. 3 was found at the scene of one of the attacks, but officials have not confirmed he was one of the gunmen; still, the attacks and suspicion of refugees has already prompted a backlash. European leaders are reportedly reconsidering plans for resettlement, and U.S. governors in Michigan and Alabama said they will refuse any plans to resettle Syrian refugees in their states.
The attack was quickly tied back to the Islamic State, which asserted its responsibility. Reports have noted that intelligence from multiple countries suggested the Islamic State would try to attack Paris, which contributed to France's decision to begin carrying out airstrikes in Syria on Oct. 8. At least one of the eight attackers, who has been identified as Omar Ismael Mostefai, a French citizen and petty criminal living in Chartres, may have traveled to Syria in 2012. Others seem to have been in communication with members of the Islamic State. A Syrian passport belonging to a refugee who arrived in Greece on Oct. 3 was found at the scene of one of the attacks, but officials have not confirmed he was one of the gunmen; still, the attacks and suspicion of refugees has already prompted a backlash. European leaders are reportedly reconsidering plans for resettlement, and U.S. governors in Michigan and Alabama said they will refuse any plans to resettle Syrian refugees in their states.
