French MPs vote for extending airstrikes in Iraq

France’s parliament has overwhelmingly voted for the continuing of airstrikes against the ISIL Takfiri militants in Iraq as part of a US-led coalition

During a Tuesday session, 488 French Lawmakers voted for the extension of the operations, with only one vote against and 13 abstentions.

Before the vote, French Premier Manuel Valls called on MPs to extend the operations, saying, “Our mission is not over… we are faced with a war against terrorism.”

The vote came on the heels of France witnessing its worst terrorist attacks in decades, which left 17 people dead following three days of violence that started on January 7, when two armed men burst into Charlie Hebdo magazine’s offices.

Since August, the US and some of its allies have been conducting airstrikes against what they say are ISIL positions in Iraq. Some members of the US-led coalition also started a similar bombing campaign inside Syria in September.

The coalition strikes against ISIL continues to yield no results with analysts arguing that the main aim of the US and its allies is to keep the wars going to destabilize countries like Iraq.

The ISIL Takfiri terrorists have taken control of large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria since last year. The Iraqi army, backed by pro-government tribes, Shia volunteers and Kurdish Peshmerga, has so far managed to make significant gains in the fight against the terrorists.