Paris/Washington: France President Francois Hollande has ordered that French air strikes against Islamic State jihadists be stepped up in Iraq and Syria.
"Francois Hollande gave the necessary instructions for the intensification of the military operations under way against Daesh in Syria as well as in Iraq," his office said in a statement today.
The statement was issued after the President met with senior Cabinet ministers and military chiefs.
Yesterday, French MPs voted to extend the national state of emergency for three months as the government decided a major tightening of security laws in the wake of the Paris terror attacks that killed 129 people.
Under French law, the state of emergency can be decided in the event of "imminent danger following serious breaches of law and order."
The state of emergency allows state authorities to forbid the movement of persons and vehicles at specific times and places. They can also define protected areas and safety areas where the movement of persons is controlled.
The state of emergency also allows police to perform house searches day and night instead of performing them only at daylight.
US House passes stringent Syrian refugees bill
US House of Representatives on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a bill that would block Syrian and Iraqi refugees from entering the US unless they pass strict background checks.
The measure was approved on a vote of 289 to 137, with dozens of President Barack Obama's fellow Democrats breaking with the White House to endorse the bill.
The White House issued a veto threat on Wednesday and Obama said that Republicans' concern about the current US vetting system for refugees "doesn't jibe with reality".
The bill would hold obliged heads of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security as well as national intelligency agencies to certify to the Congress that each Iraqi and Syrian refugee let into the US was not a security threat.
The bill still has to sail through the Senate before being sent to Obama.
While whether it would pass the Senate remains unclear, several Republican lawmakers indicated that they would tie the issue of Syrian refugees to a must-pass December budget measure.
Ready to join Western coalition fighting ISIS: Russia
Meanwhile, Russia has said that it is ready to work with the Western coalition fighting the Islamic State group if its members respect Syria's sovereignty.
“We...are ready for practical cooperation with those countries which are part of the coalition and are ready to develop with them such forms of coordination that of course would respect Syria's sovereignty and the prerogatives of the Syrian leadership,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
Russia first launched air strikes on Syria in September at the request of its long-standing ally President Bashar al-Assad.
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