Tuesday, 26 January 2016 - 14:23
Plan to bomb ISIS in Syria wins Netherlands MP majority support
On Tuesday the PvdA agreed to extend the Dutch participation in the fight against terrorist organization Islamic State to also include bombings in Syria. This means that a large majority in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, is now behind air strikes against ISIS in Syria, AD reports.
Currently there are four Dutch F-16's attacking ISIS only in Iraq from an airbase in Jordan. There are also about 130 Dutch troops in the cities of Baghdad and Erbil, where they are training Iraqi and Kurdish forces for the fight against the terrorist organization.
The VVD has been behind military intervention in Syria for some time, but coalition party PvdA took some time to reach a decision.
Expanding the fight to Syria gained momentum after the terrorist attacks in Paris in November. The French government asked the EU member states for support in tackling the terrorist organization. The Americans also asked the Dutch cabinet to "intensify" the fight against ISIS.