Opération Chammal is a French military operation in Iraq and Syria in an attempt to contain the expansion of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and to support the Iraqi Army. Its name comes from the Shamal (Chammal in French), a northwesterly wind that blows over Iraq and the Persian Gulf states. On 14 November 2015, ISIL claimed that the attacks that took place in Paris the previous day were retaliation for Opération Chammal. In response, French forces increased their attacks against ISIL in Syria.