ISIL group strongholds Raqqa and Mosul "must fall" this year, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said during a speech in Baghdad on Monday.

ISIL  group strongholds Raqqa and Mosul "must fall" this year, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said during a speech in Baghdad on Monday.

Le Drian's remarks are the most specific timetable for the cities' recapture given by a member of the US-led coalition against the terrorists, which has been reluctant to comment on the expected pace of operations.

"Raqqa and Mosul must fall in 2016," Le Drian said, calling for making it "the year of a major turning point in our struggle against the so-called ISIL."

ISIL claimed attacks in Paris that killed 130 people in November last year, and there is concern that the terrorists will strike the country again.