News / EU

Netherlands to carry out anti-Daesh air raids in Syria

Friday, 29 January 2016 7:06 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 30 January 2016 4:53 AM ]

The photo released on October 9, 2015 shows a French warplane before taking off to take part in the US-led coalition’s operations against purported positions of the Takfiri Daesh terrorists in Syria. (AFP Photo)

The Netherlands is set to join the so-called US-led coalition in Syria against the purported positions of the Daesh terror group, extending its anti-Daesh mission in neighboring Iraq.

The Dutch foreign and defense ministries said in a statement on Friday that The Hague has decided to carry out airstrikes against Daesh in eastern Syria in a bid to make the battle against the terrorists in Iraq “more efficient.”

"We are going to deploy the F-16s above Syria, in particular to stop the pipeline leading from Syria into Iraq," Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said, alluding to the Daesh militants.

The plan came after the Dutch government received a request from the United States and France to widen its air campaign against Daesh after the group launched a deadly attack in the French capital of Paris in November 2015.

"The recent terrorist attacks in Paris, Istanbul and Jakarta clearly show that ISIS (Daesh) is a danger for our security and our way of life," Rutte said.

The Netherlands is engaged in an alleged fight against Daesh extremists in Iraq with four F-16 aircraft, but it had said in the past that it would not extend the aerial campaign over Syria without a UN mandate.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (AFP photo)

Since September 2014, the US along with some of its allies has been conducting air raids against what are said to be the Daesh terrorists inside Syria without any authorization from Damascus or a UN mandate. The air assaults in Syria are an extension of the US-led aerial campaign against purported Daesh positions in Iraq, which started in August 2014.

The US-led strikes have on many occasions targeted infrastructures and left many civilians dead.

Many parties to the coalition are widely accused of having contributed to the formation of terror groups in Syria over the past few years.

The Dutch government statement, meanwhile, said its four F-16 jet fighters would "remain active until July 1 over the enlarged zone.” They have been targeting Daesh positions in Iraq since October 2014.

According to Rutte, Dutch troops would also boost their support for training Iraqi and Peshmerga forces.

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