It quoted an officer on board, who said the planes would take part in an attack on Mosul, ISIS stronghold in Iraq.

The Charles de Gaulle, France aircraft carrier, was sent to the region earlier in September.

Iraqi forces have gained significant ground in the battle for Mosul, which was occupied by ISIS in June 2014, and are expected to launch an offensive to retake Mosul soon.

French radio station RTL reported that 24 aircraft will take part in today's operation, with a sortie every three minutes, on average.

It also said the fighters were armed with four 250kg laser-guided bombs each.

This is the ship's third mission with the US-led coalition in Iraq and Syria, since February 2015, when France stepped up its military operations following the attacks in Paris.

The Charles de Gaulle is a 38,000-tonne ship powered by two nuclear reactors. It has more than 1,900 crew, and is 260 metres (850ft) long, BBC reports.

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