Belgium to send ground troops to Iraq

Belgium has received an official request to send Belgian troops to Iraq, to help train the Iraqi troops and offer support in the fight against the jihadists of the Islamic State (IS), according to a report in Le Soir, confirmed by Foreign Affairs Minister Didier Reynders.

US General James Terry said on Monday that the United States-led international coalition against IS would send 1,500 troops to Iraq, but did not yet announce which countries would contribute to the ground operation.

A spokeswoman for Defence Minister Steven Vandeput confirms that Belgium received "an official request” from the coalition to participate in the new operation. Reynders confirmed that Belgium is capable of sending "a few dozen" Belgian military instructors to Iraq, but “there is no question of sending troops to take part in battle on the ground."

Reynders already announced last week that Belgium was considering sending military instructors to Iraq. It wasn’t until Wednesday’s meet-up of the coalition against terror group IS that Belgium confirmed it would make the soldiers readily available.