Hollande to visit French aircraft carrier deployed in Syria fight

Paris (dpa) - The Elysee Palace said Friday that French President Francois Hollande would visit a French aircraft carrier serving as the launching pad for air missions over Syria and Iraq.Hollande‘s impromptu visit underscores France‘s heightening military aims in the region, as it has scaled up airstrikes against the Islamic State after the group claimed responsibility for a series of terrorist attacks in Paris that left 130 people dead.The French leader‘s visit would include meeting with the pilots flying missions over Iraq and Syria, that have been directed mostly at Islamic State training centres. Recent missions have also targeted the group‘s stronghold of al-Raqqa.Thirty-eight fighter jets and military planes are on board the Charles de Gaulle carrier, which moved into the Mediterranean to ramp up airstrikes shortly after the attacks in Paris. The Elysee said 59 operational missions have been carried out from the aircraft carrier.Hollande‘s visit would last two hours, his office said.