French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius wants a new name for Islamic State extremists that have been sowing terror in Iraq and Syria, killing hundreds of innocent civilians and unarmed soldiers, and executing at least two American journalists.

As France prepares to host an international conference on the security situation in Iraq and Syria, Fabius said people should stop calling the extremists as the Islamic State. He said the terrorists do not represent Islam nor any state.

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Fabius will accompany French President Francois Hollande to Baghdad on Friday. The visit is part of preparations for the Paris conference that will be held on September 15.

Speaking before French lawmakers, Fabius used the term Daesh to refer to the Islamic extremists. Daesh is the Arabic acronym for the group's full name, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)

"The determination of the Daesh butchers is strong. Ours must be even stronger," Fabius said.

Egypt's top Islamic authority, the Dar el-Ifta, had earlier launched an international campaign to challenge ISIL, and called on foreign media  to stop using Islamic State to refer to the extremists.

Meanwhile, Fabius said France is ready to take part in air strikes against extremist fighters in Iraq if called upon.

"We will participate, if necessary, in military air action," the foreign minister said in Paris. Fabius called for an international mobilization against "this transnational danger that could reach all the way to our soil.

rance has said it was sending arms to Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq to help fight the ISIL. 

TagsIraq, Laurent Fabius