Chloe Lew 
Mustafa Al-Khaqani 
France's Foreign Ministry issued the following statement:
France condemns the terrorist attack perpetrated on 2 January which
once again left the Iraqi capital in mourning and claimed the lives of
several dozen people.
We extend our condolences to the families of the victims
and wish the injured a speedy recovery. France expresses its deepest
sympathy to the Iraqi people and authorities.Terrorism has taken a heavy toll on Iraq and France will continue to support the Iraqi authorities in their fight against this scourge, to which we are entirely committed, alongside our international coalition partners.
This was the purpose of the President of the French Republic’s visit to Iraq today.
As noted in the statement above, Francois Hollande, the president of France, visited Iraq today. This Monday visit was announced in Sunday's news. It wasn't the sneak-in type that Bully Boy Bush used to do or the one that President Barack Obama did on his only visit to Iraq during his 8 years in the White House.
BBC News (World)- French president Hollande vows to support Iraq in war on IS group http://xhne.ws/RNoYQ
- Attending meeting with visiting French President Hollande. #France's historic & continued support to #Kurdistan Region is highly appreciated
- Erbil, this afternoon President Barzani received President Hollande.
China Xinhua News
Safeen Dizayee 
Sami Ergoshi 
On Arabic social media, Iraq's Prime Minister Hayder al-Abadi was mocked for claims that no foreign troops were in Iraq when President Hollande was there and visited French troops.
In other bombings, the US Defense Dept announced:
Strikes in Iraq
Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery conducted nine strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:
-- Near Haditha, a strike destroyed an ISIL bunker.
-- Near Kisik, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an observation post and a weapons cache.
-- Near Mosul, six strikes engaged four ISIL tactical units; destroyed four mortars, five vehicle bombs, a heavy machine gun, a vehicle, an ISIL-held building, a pontoon bridge, and three vehicle bomb factories; disabled two bridges; damaged 31 supply routes; and suppressed six mortar teams.
-- Near Rawah, a strike destroyed two weapons storage facilities.
Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target. Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike.
It's the same old same old in Iraq.
If only Barack had stuck to his June 19, 2014 words maybe peace -- or some approximate -- could be detected in Iraq today.
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Iraq
