French parliament votes to extend air strikes in Syria

French Parliament has voted overwhelmingly to extend the air strikes against the targets of the Islamic State militant group in Syria. The National Assembly approved a motion to prolong the operation by 515 votes to four, with 10 abstentions. Defence Minister said, all 27 other European Union members had offered direct or indirect military support.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls told lawmakers that French planes, which started hitting IS targets in Iraq in September last year, had carried out more than 300 strikes against the group.

Paris has intensified its campaign against IS since the Paris attacks on the 13th of this month that left 130 people dead and many others



injured.

Meanwhile, schools and the metro in the Belgian capital, Brussels resumed operations yesterday after a four-day hiatus amid a security crackdown in the city. According to reports, Belgian police and soldiers will continue to patrol the streets as Brussels’ maximum security alert will continue until Monday.

Brussels went into lockdown late Friday after the Belgian government received information about a possible Paris-like attack in the city.

Belgian authorities are also hunting for the Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam, who fled to Belgium.