PARIS, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- France's armed forces chief Francois Lecointre said on Thursday that he expected to completely drive the remaining Islamic State (IS) insurgents out of Syrian and Iraqi territories by the end of November.
Speaking to local media, Lecointre pledged to reduce the number of French troops in conflict zones in Iraq and Syria "as soon as (he) can."
"I will take every opportunity to reduce forces' presence in operations, as long as they are not justified," he added.
In September 2014, France joined the U.S.-led coalition against IS with the launch of Operation Chammal at the request of Iraqi authorities, as Baghdad asked for an enhancement of military support for local forces to combat the group.
As part of coalition military offensive, it participated, a year after, in strikes against IS in Syria where French warplanes conducted waves of air strikes targeting training camps which, according to French officials, export terrorists to attack French interests.
