France has agreed to provide air support requested by Iraq to bolster its fight against Islamic State fighters.
But French President Francois Hollande stresses that France will not send ground troops and will not strike in neighboring Syria.
"This morning, during a high-level defense meeting, I decided to respond to the request of Iraqi authorities to provide air support. Our goal is to contribute to peace and security in Iraq by weakening the terrorists. I want to be clear about saying this support and the air support. We won't go beyond this."
French fighter jets started reconnaissance missions in Iraq earlier this week.
The country has also been providing arms to Kurdish forces in the north of Iraq to fight IS.
Earlier, U.S. President Barack Obama laid out a plan to fight the militant group, including possible airstrikes in Syria.
The U.S. president also ruled out the chance of sending in ground troops.
