Germany to Support France in Fight against ’ISIS’ in Syria
Local Editor
Germany agreed to lend military assistance to France and support its expanded aerial campaign against the "murderous gang" after the French President asked Berlin to step up efforts against the "ISIS" terrorist group in the wake of the mid-November Paris attacks.
Germany's participation in the anti-"ISIS" campaign will include sending between four and six Tornado reconnaissance planes equipped with special infrared cameras to detect enemy positions, as well as a frigate to protect
France's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier stationed in the Mediterranean.
Germany will also provide aerial refueling planes for French jets, Henning Otte, defense spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union party told journalists.
"We won't just strengthen the training mission [for Kurdish Peshmerga fighters] in northern Iraq, but also push forward our engagement in the battle against Isis terror in Syria with reconnaissance Tornados," Otte said as quoted by the German branch of The Local.
"Germany will be a more active contributor [to the anti-"ISIS" campaign] than it has been until now," he added.
Germany also plans to share its satellite intelligence data on "ISIS" positions with France. The announcement comes as the French president visits Moscow. During the visit he agreed with the Russian leader that the two countries would unite their efforts against the "common enemy" and will share data on terrorist positions in Syria.
The German mission in Syria however is expected to focus primarily on reconnaissance and will not involve participation in direct air strikes against "ISIS", German media reported citing the country's officials.
"The government today decided on difficult, but important and necessary steps," German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen told journalists after the meeting. "We all joined together in the awareness that we're firmly at France's side," she said as quoted by Bloomberg.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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