Arab Nations Offer Airstrikes to Combat Islamic State

PARIS, Sept. 14 (UPI) —

Several Arab nations have pledged military support, including airstrikes, to assist in the international campaign against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, according to officials with the U.S. State Department.

The officials, who were not named due to State Department protocol, have been traveling with Secretary of State John Kerry in a week-long trip to consolidate international support for the campaign. They told The New York Times that a series of unnamed Arab countries have made offers to the Iraqi government and United States Central Command to “take more aggressive kinetic action” against IS forces.

United States Central Command, also known as CENTCOM, is tasked with overseeing military operations in the Middle East.

Kerry was in Paris on Sunday, but had already made rounds across countries such as Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt.

Members of the 22-nation Arab League met in Cairo on Sept. 7 to issue a resolution about taking immediate measures to combat the Islamic State, but were vague about details.

In July, the Center for Strategic and International Studies released a report titled, “Iraq: The Enemy of my Enemy is Not My Friend,” which advocated for a careful approach to warring with IS that included a coalition with neighboring Arab states.

“The United States should work with Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the UAE to try to develop an integrated approach to dealing with counterterrorism, the Islamist extremist threat in Syria, and the Assad regime,” the report read.