Dutch, Belgian F-16s to Join Anti-IS Strikes in Iraq

Six Dutch F-16 fighter bombers and six Belgian ones are to join the U.S.-led air campaign against the Islamic State group in Iraq, officials said on Wednesday.

"The Netherlands will make six F-16s available for the first phase of the campaign, for one year," Dutch Deputy Prime Minister Lodewijk Asscher told reporters after an emergency cabinet meeting in The Hague.

Earlier in the day, the Belgian government said it plans to send six F-16 fighter jets to join the anti-IS coalition but will limit their use to Iraq.

The Belgian parliament must still approve the move, which follows a formal request from Washington on Tuesday, Belgian Defense Minister Pieter De Crem said.

The threat posed by the IS group prompted the United States to launch airstrikes in Iraq last month and on Tuesday the operation was expanded to IS and other groups in Syria.

De Crem was quoted as saying by the Belga news agency that the government had approved an initial one-month deployment, which could be renewed.

The deployment of the U.S.-built fighter bombers would be "limited to Iraq", as it had made an international appeal for help, Foreign Minister Didier Reynders added.

A full vote in parliament is expected in coming days, possibly on Friday. It is expected to pass.

The planes would be deployed two or three days later.

The F-16s would be based in Jordan, one of the Arab nations that has joined the coalition, and would be accompanied by around 120 personnel, the defense ministry said.

But a plan to send a C-130 transport plane and special forces tasked with training Iraqi troops and Kurdish Peshmerga forces was not officially discussed by the ministers, Belga said.

Belgium has expressed mounting concerns over the Islamic State group, with around 350 to 400 of its nationals having gone to fight in Iraq and Syria.

The U.S. military operation in Syria is supported by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Jordan. 

Iraq has welcomed the U.S.-led attacks on jihadist groups including the Islamic State organization.

France sent Rafale fighters into action in Iraq last week, while British media said parliament could be recalled as early as Friday to decide whether to join up.

But Paris and London have both said they will not join the U.S.-led operation in Syria.