US secretary of defence Ash Carter met with French defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian at the Pentagon, to strengthen cooperation with the aim to fight against the Islamic State (IS). Carter commended France for its commitment in the fight to deliver a lasting defeat to IS. Earlier this year, France deployed its aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to the Persian Gulf to support counter-IS airstrikes.

The French air force continues to play a critical role after being the first to join the US in striking IS targets in Iraq. US forces would continue to support France in efforts with airlift and aerial-refueling capabilities.

Le Drian said that IS was no longer a terrorist group, but rather has morphed into a “terrorist army”.  IS now has the capability to act as a classical army, but also to have operations in urban areas and terroristic operations.

Things You Should Know About Islamic State

• ISIS was started as an al Qaeda splinter group.
• The aim of ISIS is to create an Islamic state, referred to as a caliphate, across Sunni areas of Iraqand in Syria.
• ISIS’s strategy for revenue includes oil production and smuggling, ransoms from kidnappings, selling stolen artifacts, extortion and controlling crops.
• ISIS has been known to destroy valuable antiquities.
• Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is the current leader of ISIS. Al-Baghdadi was detained for four years in Camp Bucca, which was a U.S.-run prison in southern Iraq. He was released in 2009.

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