France, Russia bombard IS as attacks forge unlikely alliance

France and Russia agreed Tuesday to coordinate their military and security services in an unusual alliance against Islamic State jihadists in Syria after devastating attacks on Paris and the bombing of a Russian plane.

As French and Belgian investigators continued the manhunt for an eighth suspect involved in Friday's deadly assault, the war machines went into action, with both countries bombarding the IS stronghold of Raqa.

Paris and Moscow have vowed merciless retaliation for the attacks on the French capital and a Russian airliner that collectively killed more than 350 people and have galvanised international resolve to destroy the jihadists and end the nearly five-year Syrian war.

"It's necessary to establish direct contact with the French and work with them as allies," said Russian President Vladimir Putin as France prepared to send an aircraft carrier to the eastern Mediterranean, where the Russian navy is deployed.

French President Francois Hollande will meet Putin in Moscow on November 26, two days after seeing US President Barack Obama in Washington.

In grieving France, police racked up arrests and seized weapons as they scoured the country for clues after a wave of coordinated attacks by gunmen and suicide bombers on Friday night that left 129 dead and shook the country to its core.

Only 117 of the victims have been identified and 221 people are still in hospital.

In a sign of the nervousness around Europe, a football match between Germany and the Netherlands was cancelled because of "security reasons" and fans evacuated from the stadium in Hanover, police said.

However a match between France and England was to go ahead in the presence of Prince William, at London's Wembley Stadium where fans were to join together in singing the French national anthem 'La Marseillaise'.

The attacks targeted France's national stadium, a rock concert, bars and restaurants, with the France squad particularly touched when a cousin of midfielder Lassana Diarra was named among the victims at the Bataclan concert hall where 89 were massacred.

 Caption: French police stand guard in Lille during a tribute to the victims of the attacks in Paris (Digital Journal)