MOSCOW, September 26 (RIA Novosti) – Denmark has joined the US-led international coalition to combat Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq, Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt said Friday.
“We support the Iraqi government in its fight against the IS terrorist organization. Technically we are not at war because the IS is not a country but we are fighting and we want to win,” Thorning-Schmidt told reporters as quoted by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation.
Denmark will provide planes for striking IS targets in Iraq, but not Syria, the prime minister added.
The country is ready to send to Iraq seven F-16 fighter aircraft, four of them will carry out airstrikes while three others will be in reserve. 250 Danish pilots and support staff will also be deployed in the country, according to The Associated Press.
Earlier in September, the United States announced the formation of an international coalition to combat the insurgents. Washington and its allies have already carried out a number of airstrikes on IS position both in Syria and Iraq.
The IS, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), has been fighting against the Syrian government since 2012. In 2014, IS militants spread through northern and western Iraq as well and declared a caliphate on the territories under its control.
