France said Wednesday it had extended the mission of its aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, in the eastern Mediterranean until mid-December to help the operation against ISIL Takfiri group in the Iraqi city of Mosul.

President Francois Hollande decided to extend the mission after France’s defense council “reviewed the military, humanitarian, political and security stakes involved in the recapture of Mosul,” a statement issued by his office said.

The carrier was deployed to the region on September 30 with a one-month mission, its third since February 2015.

With the operation in its second week, Iraqi forces were inching towards eastern Mosul on Tuesday as growing numbers of civilians fled the city, Iraq’s second largest.

Source: AFP