Belgium’s Anti-ISIS Airstrikes Expand From Iraq Into Syria
The Belgian government, a member of the American-led coalition that has been bombing Islamic State targets for nearly two years, said Friday that it was expanding Belgium’s airstrikes beyond Iraq into neighboring Syria. A spokesman for Prime Minister Charles Michel of Belgium said the decision to broaden the targets of the six F-16 fighter jets it contributed partly reflected […]Alissa J. Rubin writes for The New York Times:
The Belgian government, a member of the American-led coalition that has been bombing Islamic State targets for nearly two years, said Friday that it was expanding Belgium’s airstrikes beyond Iraq into neighboring Syria.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Charles Michel of Belgium said the decision to broaden the targets of the six F-16 fighter jets it contributed partly reflected pressure from the coalition.
Mr. Michel’s spokesman, Barend Leyts, said Belgium’s decision also was part of a joint effort with the Netherlands, Belgium’s close ally, to battle the Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL. Belgium and the Netherlands take turns in participating in the coalition’s airstrikes.
