Despite repeatedly ruling out taking part in air strikes on ISIL targets over Syria, France has now hinted at a potential change of plans.<br /><br /> Hours after French tourist Hervé Gourdel was beheaded by an Algerian Islamist group, Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the government would “see how the situation evolves”. When asked if air strikes were a possibility in the future, the minister responded: “The question is on the table.”<br /><br /> France has carried out raids on Iraq, but its efforts in Syria – a strong ISIL power base – have focussed on providing weapons and training to Syrian rebels on the ground. <br /><br /> The US and other coalition powers have pounded strategic positions in the country, including oil refineries in the east, which which reportedly generate over a million euros per day for the militant group.<br /><br /> According to US officials, Washington and its Arab allies killed scores of militants in the first 24 hours of air strikes on Syria.<br /><br /> Rami Abdulrahman, who runs the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the strikes also killed five civilians.<br /><br /> On Thursday (September 25) Kurdish officials claimed their forces had pushed back an ISIL advance near Ayn al-Arab, on the Syria-Turkey border, after the jihadists launched a fresh offensive to capture the northern region.
