French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said this morning that the IS group was spreading from its stronghold on the Libyan coast to the interior of the country with the aim of getting access to oil wells.
"They are in Sirte, their territory extends 250 kilometers along the coast, but they are starting to penetrate the interior and to be tempted by access to oil wells and reserves," Le Drian told RTL radio.
Breaking news from AFP -- French police are saying that a teacher has been attacked in the Paris suburbs by a man citing the IS group.
Egypt: Preliminary Report Into Russian Plane Crash Has Not Found Signs Of Terrorism
Egypt has completed a preliminary report on the Russian plane crash that killed all 224 people on board.
The Egyptian Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement this morning that the "technical investigative committee has so far not found anything indicating any illegal intervention or terrorist action."
Russia says that the plane was downed by a bomb. The IS group claimed responsibility, saying that its local affiliate in the Sinai Peninsula had claimed responsibility.
Russia's General Staff Says Russia Carrying Out Daily Strikes Supporting FSA
Chief of Russian army general staff Valery Gerasimov has said that Russian warplanes in Syria are carrying out tens of strikes every day in support of the Free Syrian Army (FSA).
Gerasimov said that the opposition groups numbering over 5,000 men are carrying out offensives alongside Syrian government troops.
"The number of such FSA groups is constantly increasing. For their support alone Russian planes are carrying out 30-40 strikes every day. Also we are giving them assistance with weapons, ammunition and material resources," Gerasimov said.
Russia Wants 'Impartial' Investigation Into Su-24 Downing Incident
Russia's Defense Ministry are hoping for an "objective and impartial" international investigation into the incident of the downing of a Russian Su-24 jet near the Syrian border last month, Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov said this morning.
"In the fight against radical Islam, we have not received adequate support from, our one-time, as we thought, partners, but on the contrary, we have received a stab in the back on the sly, Turkish F-16 fighters -- who violated Syrian airspace -- downed our Su-24 jet," Gerasimov said in a briefing for foreign military attaches this morning in Moscow.
Gerasimov noted that Russia had obtained the "black box" flight recorder from the downed jet.
Russia's Chief of General Staff has hinted at Moscow's previous allegations that Turkey is profiting from the illegal trade in IS oil.
In comments on the downing last month by Turkey of a Russian warplane, Valery Gerasimov said that Turkish "business interests" have been given a higher priority than Russian lives.
"The mercantile interests in illegal business of certain high-ranking Turkish officials have been placed above the lives of law-abiding citizens of Russia, France, Mali and also Turkey, against whom IS terrorists have committed acts of terror," Gerasimov said.
The Russian Defense Ministry is tweeting Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov's comments on Syria at this morning's briefing for foreign military attaches.
"Russia is contributing to the joint efforts of government forces and Syrian opposition forces to rout the terrorists," Gerasimov is quoted as saying here.
Gerasimov repeated comments made last week by Russian President Putin that Russia is giving air support and well as supplying weapons and ammunition to some Free Syrian Army groups.
From our news desk:
Egypt Finds No 'Terrorist Action' In Downing Of Russian Plane
gyptian officials say they have finished a preliminary report on the Russian plane crash on the Sinai Peninsula in October and found no sign that a bomb caused the tragedy.
Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement on December 14 that a technical investigative committee "has so far not found anything indicating any illegal intervention or terrorist action" in the downing of the plane, in which all 224 people aboard were killed.
Russian and Western officials have said the crash was caused by a bomb, and a militant organization based in Egypt with ties to the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the incident.
Federal Security Service Director Aleksandr Bortnikov said after an investigation that the airplane crashed as a result of an explosion of a bomb on board that was the equivalent of one kilogram of dynamite.
The A321 aircraft, which was flying to St. Petersburg, crashed shortly after taking off from the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh on October 31.
On November 6, Russia banned all flights to Egypt.
Opposition activists say Syrian government helicopter gunships have struck a suburb of the capital, Damascus, a day after airstrikes on nearby areas killed at least 45 people, AP is reporting.
Two groups -- the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees -- said that the strikes targeted the southwestern suburb of Daraya.
No casualty figures have been given yet.
TASS has more on this morning's claims by Russia's Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov that Russia is supporting the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in joint operations with Syrian government forces in Syria.
Gerasimov said that "FSA groups" are advancing in four of Syria's provinces -- Homs, Hama, Aleppo and Raqqa.