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The air strikes have helped Kurds claw back lost territory. This week they retook ground in the northern province of Nineveh including villages in the Khazer area and several others further west around the town of Zummar, which remains under IS control.

Elsewhere in Nineveh, Islamic State offered another sign of its growing authority over Iraqis, creating a police force "to implement the orders of the religious judiciary" , according to a well-known militant Islamist website.

French officials said Friday's mission involved two Rafale fighter jets, a supply plane and a Navy reconnaissance plane. Four air strikes were carried out in the space of half an hour, destroying a storage facility containing vehicles, arms and fuel, a spokesman for Defense Minister Jean-Yves LeDrian said.

Hollande has said French military action would be limited to Iraq and no ground troops would be sent.

Kurdish exodus

In neighboring Syria, Western powers are more reluctant to launch military strikes which could be seen to bolster President Bashar al-Assad after they repeatedly called for his departure over his military response to popular protests in 2011.

But U.S. President Barack Obama said last week he had authorized air strikes in Syria too and would not hesitate to take action, although he also stressed plans to arm "moderate" Syrian rebel fighters to help them take on Islamic State.

Exploiting the security vacuum in the north of the country, Islamic State fighters have expanded their reach, attacking mainly Kurdish villages near the border with Turkey over the last two days, driving out a wave of refugees.

Several thousand Syrian Kurds began crossing into Turkey on Friday, fleeing IS fighters who are besieging the mainly Kurdish town of Ayn al-Arab, known as Kobani in Kurdish.

Read MoreMassacre warnings signal now is the time to attack ISIL

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French jets strike in Iraq

Arbil, Iraq On a warm evening at Arbil International Airport in Iraqi Kurdistan some 150 mostly Christian refugees anxiously waited to flee their homeland aboard a French government plane.

The refugees, of all ages and from 25 different families, had one message as they prepared to fly to Paris to escape the threat of Islamic State militants: Christians and Muslims can no longer live together in Iraq.

Shakeep, a 46-year-old lawyer who worked at Mosul's main law court, was taking his wife, mother, daughter and nephew to Tours in western France, where his uncle lives. One bag each was all they had left of their belongings.

"There is no future in Iraq. There can be no future between Muslims and Christians here. I leave my life. I'm between sadness and happiness. But with Daech, we can't come back," he said, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State.

The family left Mosul six weeks ago after being given an ultimatum to convert or be killed by the Islamic State militants, who have seized large swathes of Iraq and Syria.

France has led European efforts to bring humanitarian aid to refugees. The government plane, an Airbus A310, delivered 10 more tonnes of blankets, tents, jerry cans and hygiene kits before transporting the refugees back to Paris.

"There are people sleeping outdoors at the moment, but the focus of this delivery is to prepare for the thousands who will still be here in the winter," a French diplomat said. "It's a veritable ethnic cleansing that we've witnessed here."

French fighter jets on Friday launched strikes inside Iraq for the first time as part of an international coalition that will initially focus on pushing Islamic State back from Iraq to its power base in Syria. It has also delivered weapons, mostly machine guns and ammunition, to Kurdish Peshmerga fighters.

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France, under pressure from public opinion to admit more Christians from the Middle East, has already taken in around 100 people since Islamic State launched its military offensive in Iraq in June.

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'There is no future in Iraq.' Christian refugees escape to France

19 September 2014 The Security Council today strongly condemned attacks by terrorist organizations including the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and urged Member States to assist the Iraqi Governments efforts to combat militants and implement its new political agenda, while the United Nations envoy to the country briefed on the latest developments.

In the meeting presided over by United States Secretary of State John Kerry, the Council adopted a statement which urged the international community to work closely with the Government of Iraq to identify how best the world can aid implementation of the new Iraqi agenda.

The 15-member body once again expressed its deep outrage about Iraqis who have been killed, kidnapped, raped, or tortured by ISIL and also reaffirmed its full support for the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq in assisting the Iraqis and their Government in strengthening democratic institutions.

Members stressed the need that those who have committed violations of international humanitarian law or violations or abuses of human rights in Iraq must be held accountable, noting that some of these acts may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Also today, Nickolay Mladenov, head of the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) briefed the Security Council on behalf of the Secretary-General, stressing that Iraqs new Government will need international support as it works to restore security to large parts of the country.

Mr. Mladenov called Iraqs transition painful and scarred by violence. Since the beginning of the year, ISIL has captured large parts of northern and western Iraq, gained access to substantial amounts of weapons, financial and natural resources.

Their networks spanning the region and beyond have allowed them to recruit foreign fighters in their battle to dismantle the Iraqi state, Mr. Mladenov, who is also the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, said.

Their consolidated control over extended territory in both Iraq and Syria, combined with their ideology of hatred, fear and nihilism have turned ISIL into a clear danger to the very existence of a united Iraqi State, and a threat to the regional and international security, he added.

The country is facing a humanitarian catastrophe and escalating emergency with up to 1.8 million Iraqis displaced since January. And the pressure on local communities across Iraq is growing as the continuing influx has created a massive shelter crisis. With winter fast approaching, Mr. Mladenov said, immediate measures must be enacted.

In response, the UN has mounted a massive humanitarian effort providing food, shelter, water, and health assistance. But Iraqs Government must now also establish a national strategy to deal with the internally displaced. Minority groups have been systematically targeted.

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Iraq: Security Council urges international support for Governments combat against insurgents

Iraq Humanitarian Crisis 2014
Since January 2014, attacks by armed opposition groups have driven more than 1.8 million people from their homes in Iraq. Hundreds of thousands of people need help. For more information, visit:...

By: UN OCHA

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Iraq Humanitarian Crisis 2014 - Video

Obama on Iraq: U.S. Won #39;t Commit to Another Ground War
Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama forcefully reaffirmed that he won #39;t send American troops into combat in Iraq amid fresh questions about whether the U.S. can avoid sliding deeper...

By: Bloomberg News

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Obama on Iraq: U.S. Won't Commit to Another Ground War - Video