Franceis planning air strikes against Islamic State militants inSyriain the coming weeks in an effort to stem its growing presence in the country, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Wednesday.
France, which has so far only taken part in strikes inIraq, began reconnaissance flights overSyriaa week ago in order to gather information on Islamic State positions.
Asked in an interview onFranceInter radio whenFrancewould begin air strikes inSyria, Le Drian said "in the coming weeks", adding that he did not want to give details for strategic reasons.
"As soon as we have well identified targets and we can carry out the strikes that we need to carry out against an enemy who is the Islamic state and who is threatening us," he said.
Le Drian said Islamic State's presence inSyriahad expanded quickly in recent months.