France, Russia agree to exchange intelligence in Syria bombing campaigns - Hollande

MOSCOW (Reuters) - France and Russia agreed on Thursday to exchange intelligence on Islamic State and other militant groups in Syria to help improve the effectiveness of their aerial bombing campaigns in the country, French President Francois Hollande said. Speaking after talks in the Kremlin with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Hollande said they had also agreed to target only Islamic State and similar jihadi groups. The West has accused Moscow of attacking mostly Western-backed rebel groups fighting Syrian President Bashar al Assad, Russia's ally. "What we agreed, and this is important, is to strike only terrorists and Daesh (Islamic State) and to not strike forces that are fighting terrorism. We will exchange information about whom to hit and whom not to hit," Hollande told a joint news conference with Putin. France will also increase its support to rebel groups battling Islamic State on the ground in Syria, Hollande added. (Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau and John Irish, writing by Gareth Jones)