France Launches 'Massive' Airstrike on Syria

A French Defence Ministry official says the country has launched a "massive" series of airstrikes on the Islamic State group's de facto capital in Syria, destroying a jihadi training camp and a munitions dump.

The attack comes after Isis claimed responsibility for a series of co-ordinated terror attacks that left 129 people dead and injured 352 more in six locations throughout Paris on Saturday.

The ministry spokesman said the strikes on Raqqa involved 12 aircraft, including 10 fighter jets, and 20 bombs were dropped.

The spokesman spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorised to speak publicly.

The jets launched from sites in Jordan and the Persian Gulf, in co-ordination with US forces.

The strikes came after Us President Barack Obama sat down with Russian President Vladimir Putin for crucial talks on how to tackle Isis.

The two leaders met on the sidelines of the G20 summit and pledged to eliminate Isis and end the Syrian war that has fuelled the terror group's rise.

The White House says the 35-minute encounter centred on talks to end Syria's civil war and the two leaders agreed the country needed a political transition led by Syrians. The transition would be preceded by negotiations mediated by the United Nations, and a cease-fire.

The two leaders also discussed the conflict in Ukraine, and Obama expressed condolences for the victims in the Russian plane crash in the Sinai Peninsula last month.

They talked about new proposal to end the Syrian conflict and Obama's hope that Russia's airstrikes in Syria would focus on Isis, not opposition groups fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad.

During the G20 talks with world leaders, Obama said: "the skies have been darkened" by the attacks in Paris.

He vowed to stand in solidarity with France and aid the effort to hunt down the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

Mr Putin urged nations to pool their efforts to combat terrorism, adding that the fight must respect international law, the UN Charter and each nation's sovereign rights and interests.

"We understand very well that it's only possible to deal with the terror threat and help millions of people who lost their homes by combining efforts of the entire global community," Putin said.

- NZ Herald