German lawmakers OK mission against Islamic State militants
- 8 years ago
German lawmakers on Friday overwhelmingly approved a broad noncombat mission to aid the fight against Islamic State militants, sending reconnaissance jets and a frigate following France's call for help after last month's deadly attacks in Paris.
Parliament voted 445 in support of the plan and 146 against with seven abstentions.
Chancellor Angela Merkel's Cabinet had agreed upon the measures as a response to French President Francois Hollande's request for support for its operations against IS in Syria.
"The goal... is to fight and contain IS, and destroy their safe havens and their ability to lead worldwide terror operations," Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen told reporters Thursday before heading to Ankara for talks with her Turkish counterpart.
She also met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to talk about stationing German troops there and other aspects of the deployment, the Defense Ministry said Friday.
Parliament voted 445 in support of the plan and 146 against with seven abstentions.
Chancellor Angela Merkel's Cabinet had agreed upon the measures as a response to French President Francois Hollande's request for support for its operations against IS in Syria.
"The goal... is to fight and contain IS, and destroy their safe havens and their ability to lead worldwide terror operations," Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen told reporters Thursday before heading to Ankara for talks with her Turkish counterpart.
She also met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to talk about stationing German troops there and other aspects of the deployment, the Defense Ministry said Friday.