Ivory Coast's military killed nine French soldiers in a bombing raid on the rebel stronghold of Bouake on Saturday and opened fire on troops from the former colonial power in the main city of Abidjan. French President Jacques Chirac ordered warplanes and helicopters used by the West African country in violation of a ceasefire to be destroyed after the air raid, in which 23 French soldiers were injured and a U.S. citizen killed. French soldiers destroyed the two Sukhoi 25 fighters that bombed Bouake on the ground in the capital Yamoussoukro. Loud explosions and gunfire rocked the city later and flames could be seen rising from the site where three helicopters are based. The U.N. Security Council met in emergency session to discuss the crisis in the world's top cocoa grower. The French military sent three Mirage fighter jets and a supply plane to Gabon as reinforcements after the clashes and ordered 300 more soldiers to Ivory Coast. Government forces bombed rebel positions for the third day running on Saturday, paving the way for a ground offensive to retake the north of the West African country, seized by rebels after a failed attempt to oust President Laurent Gbgabo in 2002. --More 0045 Local Time 2145 GMT
