French Aircraft Carrier to Reach Anti-ISIL Operation Zone Within Week

French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle will be ready to begin its operation against ISIL radicals before the end of the week.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle will be ready to begin its operation against Islamic State (ISIL) radicals before the end of the week, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said.

"Today, the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier left its port as part of a naval group and headed for the military operation zone in the east Mediterranean, where it will arrive within a week," Le Drian told the National Assembly on Wednesday.

French President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday that the French aircraft carrier would head to the eastern Mediterranean offshore areas of Syria and Lebanon to support military operations against ISIL extremists.

The French aircraft carrier was deployed to the Persian Gulf in February to back military operations against the ISIL, Eduardo Rihan Cypel, a member of the French National Defense and Armed Forces Committee, told Sputnik.

Its most recent deployment comes in response to the November 13 terrorists attacks in Paris, which killed 129 people, injuring over 350. The Islamic State (ISIL) jihadist group, operating in Syria and Iraq, claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Britain's Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said on Wednesday that the Royal Navy HMS Defender warship will be deployed to support Charles de Gaulle in its anti-IS strikes.