French President Francois Hollande announced on Monday that his country will begin reconnaissance flights in preparation for possible airstrikes against Islamic State (IS) targets in Syria.

Hollande stated this during his biannual press conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris.

The flights will start on Tuesday and will be conducted in cooperation with the US-led international coalition against IS.

The intelligence gathered during the surveillance flights will determine the decision of the government whether to launch airstrikes

Hollande ruled out the deployment of ground forces to Syria as such a move would be “ineffective and unrealistic”, France 24 reports.

He said that several factors have influenced his decision – the foiled terrorist attack on the Amsterdam-Paris train in August, the continuing refugee crisis in Europe and the photo of three-year-old Alan Kurdi, whose body was washed up on a beach in Turkey last week.

The French President justified the move with the several terrorist attacks planned from Syria against a number of countries, including France.

He made it clear that his government would continue to work for a political transition, which sidelines Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The move of France is largely seen as a response to the reports that Russia has been deploying military advisers and equipment in Syria in support of the regime.

Up until now, France has conducted airstrikes against IS only in Iraq.

The UK is in a similar position as senior government figures are considering extending airstrikes to Syria, but this will require parliamentary approval, the BBC informs.

As regards the refugee crisis in Europe, Hollande said that France will accept 24 000 people over the next two years.

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