France bids to steal larger role over 'ISIL' threat

Spy flights by a French jet fighter to identify ISIL targets in Iraq are a sign that French ambition will have more words on terror battle, similar to its involvement in 2011 when leaders met in Paris to counter the Libya operation

Diplomatic representatives from 29 countries, which included the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, France, Russia, China the United Kingdom, and the United States, met in the French capital on Monday to agree on ways of combating ISIL.

A French warplane took off from a French military base in Abu Dhabi, and carried out a reconnaissance mission to discover targets of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, before the talks dedicated to peace and stability of Iraq began at the Foreign Ministry, said the French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

The conference was jointly chaired by the French President François Hollande and Iraqi President, Fouad Massoum. French President Hollande said that any response against ISIL must be on the global level as its threat has reached that level. The conference is primarily aimed at deciding ways of action to dry up funding to ISIL and to prevent militant recruitment from Europe.

The attendees pledged support for the encounter-terrorism coalition while Turkey, represented by Foreign Minister Mevlut Çavusoglu, refrained from becoming a part of the US-led coalition due to its concerns for the safety of the Turkish nationals, who are being held hostage by ISIL for nearly three months.

The pledge comes after Kerry's recent Mideast trip to forge a coalition for rooting out ISIL terrorists, who have rapidly gained ground in Iraq and Syria since June.

Two days before the conference, ISIL posted a video to the internet featuring the beheading of British hostage David Haines, the third victim, weeks after previous videos showing the beheading of two American journalists.

The terrorist group has also threatened to murder a second Briton it holds. Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron spoke on Sunday of his determination to "drive back, dismantle and ultimately destroy" ISIL.

US President Barrack Obama's plan also includes air strikes in Syria. The reconnaissance flights are seen as a sign that France is likely to join US-led strikes against ISIL, while Russia, seen highly supportive of the Assad regime,also attended the conference.

The joint declaration of the conference underscored that ISIL has posed a great threat, not only for the security of Iraq people but also the international community. 'The attacks on Iraq's civilians have actually been committed on whole humanity. Those crimes will not remain without response,' it said.