Hollande: France to supply Iraqi forces with weapons

President Francois Hollande says France will supply Iraqi forces with weapons in the fight against the Takfiri Daesh terrorists.

Following a meeting with a group of ministers and heads of the security forces on Friday, the French president said, "This morning at the defense council, I took the decision as part of the anti-Daesh coalition to make weapons available to Iraqi forces."

"They will be there next month," Hollande said, but he ruled out any French troop deployment in Iraq.

Hollande's announcement came in the wake of a recent deadly incident in the city of Nice, where a truck rammed into a crowd killing 84 people and injuring more than 200 others.

France also witnessed acts of terror in November 2015, when militants struck at least six different venues in and around the capital Paris, leaving 130 people dead and over 350 others injured.

France announced a state of emergency following the Paris attack. Following the truck attack in Nice, the country extended the state of emergency for another six months lasting until the end of January 2017.

SS