Several Arab countries have offered to join the United States in air strikes against ISIS targets, U.S. officials said on Sunday but declined to identify the countries.
The officials said the United States begins to identify roles for each country in its emerging coalition against the group.
“I don’t want to leave you with the impression that these Arab members haven’t offered to do air strikes because several of them have,” a senior U.S. State Department official told reporters in Paris.
The official said the offers were not limited to air strikes on Iraq. “Some have indicated for quite a while a willingness to do them elsewhere,” the official said. “We have to sort through all of that because you can’t just go and bomb something.”
Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced Sunday his country would join the coalition to fight ISIS.
Australia has pledged to deploy 600 military personnel as well as 8 FA18 Super Hornets to a US base in the UAR.
Source: Reuters