France will send more military advisors to Iraq and its aircraft carrier will return to the Middle East later this year in the fight against the Islamic State jihadist group, President Francois Hollande said Wednesday.

"We will intensify the army's efforts to support the Iraqis as they try to recapture Mosul (from the jihadist group)," Hollande said, adding that the Charles de Gaulle carrier will return to the region "in the autumn" to be used for bombing raids on IS targets.

Hollande dispatched the carrier to the region following the November 13 attacks on Paris in which 130 people were killed in what he said then was "a war" against the jihadist group.

Source: AFP