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The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle launches a Rafale marine jet as the guided-missile destroyer USS Bulkeley is seen in the background during an exercise in January 2014.

The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle launches a Rafale marine jet as the guided-missile destroyer USS Bulkeley is seen in the background during an exercise in January 2014. (Frederic Duplouich/Courtesy of French navy)

MANAMA, Bahrain — A French aircraft carrier has joined the coalition fight against Islamic militants in Iraq, French media reports said.

Le Figaro newspaper’s website said eight aircraft from the carrier Charles de Gaulle launched their first raid Monday morning against Islamic State forces in Iraq.

“The integration of the Charles de Gaulle in the operation (in Iraq) began this morning,” said a French defense official cited by the Agence France-Presse news agency.

The nuclear-powered carrier entered the Persian Gulf on Feb. 15 and completed a port visit to Bahrain on Sunday. French officials told Stars and Stripes that the port visit here was important to finalize some “operational details” with U.S. 5th Fleet. This included “integrating” the French carrier group with that of the USS Carl Vinson in the Persian Gulf.

The Charles de Gaulle is carrying a dozen Rafale fighter-bombers and nine Super Étendard strike jets, according to Le Figaro. Its carrier group includes several ships and a nuclear submarine with about 2,600 sailors.

The group, which is on a five-month deployment in the Indian Ocean, is expected to remain on station in the Persian Gulf between four and eight weeks, Le Figaro said.

The 42,000-ton Charles de Gaulle is the flagship of the French fleet. It is the only one outside the U.S. Navy to use the so-called Catobar (Catapult Assisted Take-Off But Arrested Recovery) system, whereby planes are launched by catapults and recovered by arrestor wires. This allows fighter-bombers to carry much heavier loads than the alternative short takeoff systems used by most of the navies operating aircraft carriers.

news@stripes.com

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