The first French airstrikes in Iraq have added significance: France, one of America's oldest allies, was among the most vocal critics of the decision of US President George W. Bush to conduct military action in 2003 that toppled Saddam Hussein.
Last year, France was ready to join possible US military action against President Bashar Assad's force in Syria, before US President Barack Obama stopped short. French authorities in recent weeks have suggested that the inaction there has fostered the development of the militants.
The strikes come at a time when polls show Mr Hollande is the most unpopular French president in decades - mainly for his handling of France's economic difficulties. But he has drawn higher marks from the French public in the international arena, including by helping drive al-Qaida-linked militants from northern Mali last year and in central African Republic in recent months.
US Central Command said Thursday the US military has conducted 176 airstrikes in Iraq since Aug. 8. On Wednesday, it hit a militant training camp southeast of Mosul and an ammunition stockpile southeast of Baghdad. It has also conducted a number of strikes this week in Iraq's Anbar province, near the strategic Haditha Dam.
The French airstrike took place while US Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was in France for meetings with his counterpart, Gen. Pierre de Villiers. The two men were visiting an American military cemetery in Normandy, on the English Channel, when the French strike took place.
Gen. Dempsey, who was told of the attack by de Villiers, praised the French action.
"The French were our very first ally and they are there again for us," he told reporters traveling with him in Normandy. "It just reminds me why these relationships really matter."
At a news conference a day earlier, Mr Hollande said France had agreed to "soon" conduct airstrikes requested by Iraq to bolster its fight against the militants who have captured swaths of the country.
He stressed that France wouldn't go beyond airstrikes in support of the Iraqi military or Kurdish Peshmerga forces, and wouldn't attack targets in Syria, where the Islamic State group has also captured territory.
French jets on Monday began flying reconnaissance missions over Iraq involving Rafales and an ATL2 surveillance plane, military spokesman Col. Gilles Jaron said.
Edited by Jessica Winch
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