French Airstrike Kills 30 IS in Syria

BEIRUT (AP) -- A Syrian activist group says the first airstrikes by French warplanes in Syria earlier this week killed 30 militants at an Islamic State training camp.

President Francois Hollande said six French jet fighters on Sunday destroyed the camp in a five-hour operation — the first action by France since it expanded its mission against IS. Until recently, France was only part of the airstrikes on IS targets in Iraq.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of activists on the ground, said Wednesday that 12 teenage fighters and several militants from various Arab countries were among those killed near the eastern town of Jalaa.

The youths trained by IS are known as "Cubs of the Caliphate." The Observatory says at least 20 IS members were wounded.

(KA)