UPDATE - French president calls for vigilance after Mosul attack

UPDATES WITH U.S., FRENCH DEFENSE MINISTERS' COMMENTS

By Rahmi Gunduz

PARIS (AA) - President Francois Hollande on Tuesday warned of the potential aftermath of the offensive against Mosul.

Speaking at a meeting of defense ministers from the U.S.-led coalition against Daesh, Hollande said the operation to retake Iraq’s second city would have widespread repercussions.

“The recapture is not an end in itself,” he said in Paris. “We must already anticipate the consequences of the fall of Mosul.”

The president said all ethnic and religious groups should have a role in the city’s future and added that the recapture of Mosul, which Daesh took in June 2014, should be swiftly followed by an attack on Raqqah, the terror group’s Syrian stronghold.

“If Mosul falls, Raqqah will be Daesh's last bastion… We must see to it that Daesh is destroyed and eradicated everywhere.”

Hollande also called for “vigilance” over the possible return of foreign fighters to Europe from Iraq.

French officials have said around 300 French fighters are among the estimated 4,000 to 5,000 Daesh terrorists in Mosul.

Defense ministers from 13 nations, including U.S. Defence Secretary Ashton Carter, are attending the Paris talks, a week after Iraqi and Kurdish forces launched an operation to retake Mosul.

In a joint news conference with Carter, Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the coalition should join Turkey in fighting Daesh. Carter added that preparations to recapture Raqqah had begun.