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France to send aid for Iraqi Kurds

The move comes as President Hollande assured Kurdish authorities that France will stand by 'victims of continued exactions of the Islamic State'.

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The French president's office says France will deliver a load of first aid to Iraq in the next few hours, reports ABC News.

The announcement Saturday didn't specify the exact type of aid or how it was being delivered. No one was immediately available to comment on the statement.

It came after President François Hollande spoke for a second time in days with Kurdish Regional Government President Massoud Barzani, assuring him that France "will stand by the civilian population, victims of continued exactions of the Islamic State."

Hollande spoke earlier Saturday with President Barack Obama, saying France "will take its full place" among nations willing to help the Kurdish minorities in Iraq.

Read more of this AP report published by ABC News.