France will send Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to assist US-led anti-ISIL coalition in Iraq and Syria in September, French President Francois Hollande said.

France will also send artillery to Iraq in August to help the Iraqi army fight ISIL terrorists, the President added.

“The Defense Council and I made a decision this morning to provide Iraqi forces with artillery as a part of anti-ISIL efforts. The artillery will be delivered in August,” Hollande said.

The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle will be sent to the region in September, the President added.

“The Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier will arrive in the region by the end of September. It and our Rafale aircraft will allow to intensify our strikes against ISIL positions in Syria and Iraq,” Hollande said in a televised statement.

However, France “will not deploy ground troops,” Hollande said.

“We support the operations in Syria and Iraq, but will not send our troops. We have advice to give, training to provide, but we will not deploy men on the ground,” Hollande stressed.

Iraqi forces are carrying out operations in Nineveh in preparation for an assault on Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city that has been under ISIL control since 2014.

Source: Sputnik