Russia has also extended support to the growing concern that it is increasing its military support for President Bashar al-Assad. More than 220,000 people have been killed and more than nine million displaced in the war in Syria. The decision to extend the bombing campaigns is likely to become even more controversial after Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, confirmed for the first time that he is providing Assad's regime with 'serious' training and support.

Speaking at his bi-annual news conference in Paris, Mr Hollande said terror attacks had been planned from Syria against several countries, including France. 'My responsibility is to ensure that we are informed as much as possible on the threats to our country. So I have asked the defence minister that from tomorrow reconnaissance flights begin over Syria that will enable us to consider air strikes against Islamic State.'

Leading the pack the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey said that it was 'not enough' to send aid to Syria and admit thousands of refugees to this country instead the Isil needs to be dealt with 'for once and for all' and that 'air strikes and other British military assistance' may be needed in Syria.

However looking at the refugee problem from the religious angle is not getting enough support from the Britons. Carey holds that Britain should be prioritising Christian refugees victims of 'ethnic cleansing' and have been crucified, beheaded, raped, and subjected to forced conversion by Isil. It may be liked by the Britain Prime Minister, David Cameron, who at one stage had suggested that military intervention was required to solve the Syrian crisis. But the general mood is yet not hostile.

In Britain however concerns are being expressed that Jeremy Corbyn, the hard-left Labour leader will block air strikes in Syria. With a slim Commons and up to 30 rebels on the Conservative back-benchers, Cameron would require Labour's support to get a vote through Parliament. EU leaders are clear that they would distribute the refugees and extend help to them but there must be renewed military and diplomatic efforts to crush the twin menaces of Islamic State and al-Qaeda once and for all. 'Make no mistake: this may mean air strikes and other British military assistance to create secure and safe enclaves in Syria' is the resolve.

The EU leaders feel; 'If we have identified a threat to our national security, we have a duty to deal with it. Handwringing about the tragedy of the refugees is not enough. It is time that action was taken to deal with the root of the problem.' The UK parliament which was earlier not in favour of armed intervention is learnt to be in the mood to extend support.

In the wake of this development the UK prime minister Cameron is expected to set out his plans for Britain to take thousands more migrants in the Commons.

In a related development Carey has raised the issue of victimisation of Christians in Syria. It is argued that Christian Syrians should be prioritised. They will pose 'no challenge to integration' because Britain is a Christian nation with an established Church that is eager to offer support and accommodation to refugees. Carey also held that by contrast there has been 'too much Muslim mass immigration' to Europe, which has resulted in 'ghettos' in Muslim communities as people live 'parallel lives' to mainstream society. He said that Gulf states should be opening their doors to Syrian Muslims fleeing the conflict.

EU leaders also share the view that they should be prepared to close the doors to large numbers of economic migrants and return them to their countries. A proper process of registration must be conducted, ideally in refugee camps on the borders of Europe. And if the numbers get too large, we should be prepared to admit refugees on a provisional and temporary basis, reviewing their status periodically until they can return home.

France was the first country to join the US-led coalition carrying out air strikes on Isil targets in Iraq and has supplied weapons to what it considers moderate rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. But it has so far ruled out bombing the terror group’s bases in Syria out of fear that this might benefit the Assad regime. French newspaper Le Monde quoted an unnamed 'high level source' as saying that in the wake of the growing migrant crisis in Europe, President François Hollande was now considering sending French warplanes to attack Isil in Syria.

The claim comes as David Cameron indicated that Britain’s plans to do the same could be abandoned if Jeremy Corbyn becomes Labour party leader. France’s reported plans to extend its airstrikes come just a day after David Cameron, who has suggested that a military intervention is required to solve the migrant crisis currently engulfing Europe, cast doubt over his suggestions that he might extend British air strikes to Syria.

But he added his government would continue to work for a political transition that sidelined Syria's president. France looks to be moving towards airstrikes in Syria, as well as those it has already launched in Iraq. Australia too is weighing up Syrian strikes. The number of additional strike sorties though would be small. Britain, is already flying a pair of Tornados each day and there appear to be no plans to expand the number of aircraft involved if the scope of the mission broadens.

Experts say the West and its Arab allies still lack a coherent policy for tackling Syria's myriad problems. IS extremists have made significant gains on the ground in Syria as one of the groups in the uprising against President Assad, and have also been fighting other rebels. They have also captured large areas of Iraq. A Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman said it was 'premature' to say Russia was involved in the fighting in Syria, although it was no secret Moscow had been supplying Damascus with equipment to fight 'terrorists'. (IPA Service)