From the Liveblog of
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Saudi official says kingdom ready to send troops to Syria
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleA Saudi military spokesman says the kingdom is ready to send ground troops to Syria to fight Islamic State group provided coalition leaders agree at an upcoming meeting in Brussels.
Brig. Gen. Ahmed Asiri tells The Associated Press that Saudi Arabia has taken part in coalition airstrikes against IS since the US-led campaign began in September 2014, but would now provide ground troops.
The United States is scheduled to convene a meeting of defense ministers from countries fighting IS in Brussels this month.
“We are determined to fight and defeat Daesh,” Asiri says, using the Arabic acronym for IS. He doesn’t elaborate on how many troops the kingdom would send. Saudi Arabia is deeply involved in Yemen’s civil war, where it is fighting Iranian-backed Shiite rebels.
— AP
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