UNITED NATIONS, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Airstrikes by the United States and Arab allies on Islamic State militants in Syria were targeting extremists who pose a serious threat to international peace and security, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday.
"I'm aware that today's strikes were not carried out at the direct request of the Syrian government but I note that the government was informed beforehand," Ban said at a joint news conference with French President Francois Hollande on the sidelines of a U.N. conference on climate change.
"I also note that the strikes took place in areas no longer under the effective control of that government," he added. "It is undeniable and the subject of broad international consensus that these extremist groups pose an immediate threat to international peace and security." (Reporting by Louis Charbonneau and Michelle Nichols; Editing by Howard Goller)
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