France insists on new name for Mideast extremists
PARIS - France's foreign minister says people should stop referring to extremists in Iraq and Syria as the Islamic State, arguing that they do not represent Islam or a state.
France has urged international action against the extremists and is sending arms to Kurdish authorities to fight the militants. The French president is going to Iraq on Friday and hosting an international conference Monday on how to stop the group and help Iraq.
Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius referred to the group Wednesday as Daesh, the acronym in Arabic for its full former name, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
