A French military armoured personnel carrier and a truck are seen after being loaded on to a Royal Air Force C-17 aircraft at Evreux in northern France, January 14, 2013. Britain is lending logistical support to France as it sends troops and military equipment to Mali. *******/Andrew Winning
This Sunday Jan.13, 2013 photo provided by the French Army Monday Jan.14, 2013 shows French Rafale jetfighters being prepared before heading to Mali from the Saint Dizier airbase, eastern France. French fighter jets bombed rebel targets in a major city in Mali's north Sunday, pounding the airport as well as training camps, warehouses and buildings used by the al-Qaida-linked Islamists controlling the area, officials and residents said. (AP Photo/Laure-Anne Maucorps, ECPAD)
This Sunday Jan.13, 2013 photo provided by the French Army Monday Jan.14, 2013 shows French Rafale jetfighters on the tarmac after a mission to Mali in N'Djamena, Chad. (AP Photo/Adj Nicolas-Nelson Richard, ECPAD)
These Sunday Jan.13, 2013 photo provided by the French Army Monday Jan.14, 2013 shows a French Rafale jetfighter landing after a mission to Mali in N'Djamena, Chad.
A Rafale fighter is armed at the Saint Dizier airbase in central France before being deployed in Mali, in this picture provided by the French Military Communications Audiovisual office (ECPAD) and taken on January 13, 2013. Al Qaeda-linked Islamist rebels in Mali launched a counter-offensive on Monday after three days of strikes by French fighter jets on their strongholds in the desert north, vowing to drag France into a long and brutal ground war. Photo taken January 13, 2013. Mandatory Credit. *******/SGC. Laure-Anne Maucorps/ECPAD/Handout (
French Rafale fighter jets taxi on the runway after landing in Ndjamena, Chad before their deployment in Mali, in this picture provided by the French Military Communications Audiovisual office (ECPAD) and taken on January 13, 2013.
This Sunday Jan.13, 2013 photo provided by the French Army Monday Jan.14, 2013 shows French Rafale jetfighters being prepared before heading to Mali from the Saint Dizier airbase, eastern France. French fighter jets bombed rebel targets in a major city in Mali's north Sunday, pounding the airport as well as training camps, warehouses and buildings used by the al-Qaida-linked Islamists controlling the area, officials and residents said. (AP Photo/Laure-Anne Maucorps, ECPAD)
| A pilot in the cockpit of a French Rafale fighter jet as it prepares to take off for deployment in Mali from the military air base of Saint Dizier in central France, in this picture provided by the French Military Communications Audiovisual office (ECPAD) and taken on January 13, 2013.
This Sunday Jan.13, 2013 photo provided by the French Army Monday Jan.14, 2013 shows a pilot exiting a jetfighter after a mission to Mali in N'Djamena, Chad. French fighter jets bombed rebel targets in a major city in Mali's north Sunday, pounding the airport as well as training camps, warehouses and buildings used by the al-Qaida-linked Islamists controlling the area, officials and residents said. (AP Photo/Adj Nicolas-Nelson Richard, ECPAD)