PARIS (Reuters) - France's air force carried out an air strike in Mali on Friday as it supported government forces trying to halt a push south by Islamist rebels who control the north, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said.

Asked at a news conference whether there had been an air strike since France began its military intervention a few hours earlier, Fabius replied, "Yes."

He said as far as he knew France was the only country that was assisting the Malian government militarily for now.

(Reporting by John Irish and Vicky Buffery; Writing by Catherine Bremer)