France carries out first air strikes on ISIS in Syria

France carried out its first air strikes against the Islamic State group in Syria yesterday, as Russia said it was seeking a "coordinated framework" to fight the jihadists.

President Francois Hollande said six French warplanes were involved in the operation to strike an ISIS training camp near the eastern city of Deir Ezzor, and that more air strikes could follow in the coming weeks.

The action came on the eve of the UN General Assembly in New York where Syria is back in the spotlight after four years of a brutal war that has sent hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing to Europe.

President Vladimir Putin is set to unveil a plan to resolve the conflict today after boosting Russia's military presence in Syria and taking a leading role in pushing for a political solution.

Iraq said it had agreed with Russia, Iran and Syria to set up a unit in Baghdad to share intelligence on ISIS.

While Russia's deployment of troops and warplanes to Syria appears to have signalled a shift on the ground, winds are also changing on the diplomatic front as leaders scramble to find a political solution.

World leaders who previously refused to embark on a political process unless Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was out of the picture, appear to be changing their stance.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a fierce critic of Assad, suggested for the first time Thursday that Assad could have a role to play in a political transition.

And in a sign the European position on Assad may also be softening, German Chancellor Angela Merkel suggested he could be part of discussions to end the bloodshed.

Washington refuses to accept a peace process that would leave Assad in power and so has backed and armed small "moderate" rebel groups. But that strategy appeared in tatters after the Pentagon admitted the latest US-trained fighters to cross into Syria had given a quarter of their equipment to al-Qaeda.