France seeks urgent council meeting on Iraq

Paris - France has called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting to discuss the situation in northern Iraq, where the jihadist group Islamic State has seized several Christian towns.

"France is extremely concerned by the latest advances by IS [Islamic State] in northern Iraq and the taking of Qaraqoush, the biggest Christian town in Iraq, and the unbearable abuses being committed," Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said in a statement.

"Faced with the gravity of the situation", Paris had asked for a meeting to discuss how the international community could "mobilise to counter the terrorist threat in Iraq and supply aid and protection to endangered populations," he said.