Asseri: US-led coalition discussed sending troops into Syria

Defence ministers of the countries involved in the US-led coalition against Daesh in Syria have discussed the possibility of a ground offensive against the group, a senior Saudi official revealed yesterday.

Saudi Defence Minister aide and spokesman of the Saudi-led Arab Alliance, Brigadier General Ahmad Asseri said: “It was discussed two weeks ago in Brussels.”

“It was discussed at the political level but it wasn’t discussed as a military mission,” Reuters quoted him as saying

“Once this is organised, and decided how many troops and how they will go and where they will go, we will participate in that,” he said.

“We need to discuss at the military level very extensively with the military experts to make sure that we have a plan,” Asseri said.

Asseri stressed that Riyadh is ready to carry out airstrikes from Turkey’s Incirlik Air Base, where four Saudi fighter jets arrived last week.

The US Department of State said the Saudis have spoken in the past about the possibility of sending ground troops to Syria to fight Daesh but there are many issues to be discussed about a possible incursion.

The deployment of ground forces would be a major escalation of coalition operations led by the United States against Daesh, which so far has been arming and equipping Syrian opposition groups.

US Department of State spokesperson John Kirby told reporters in Washington that Saudi has talked about the possibility of deploying ground troops in Syria, adding that the United States would welcome such a contribution in the fight against Daesh.

However there are many things that need to be discussed, he explained, including the troops’ tasks, their formation and how the coalition could support them. “Therefore there is a lot of work to be done,” he said.