DUBAI, September 23 (RIA Novosti) – Jordan took part in a military operation led by the United States against the extremist group Islamic state (IS) in Syria, Sky News Arabia channel reported Tuesday, citing Jordanian government representative Mohammed Mumin.
"We are really, like a number of other Arab countries, a part of this operation, but any military details about it will be announced at appropriate time by the armed forces of the kingdom," Mumin said.
The United States has carried out airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria with the aid of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, Fox News reported Tuesday, citing an anonymous source. The airstrikes targeted about 20 IS facilities, including training sites and arms depots. The United States reportedly used B-1 bombers, F-16 and F-18 fighters, MQ-1 Predator drones and Tomahawk missiles fired from the USS Arleigh Burke destroyer, deployed in the Red Sea.
Earlier in the day, Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby confirmed the US military and its allied forces were involved in a military operation against the IS with the permission of the commander-in-chief, and had used aircraft and Tomahawk missiles.
According to Sky News Arabia, Jordanian military aircraft took part in the airstrikes as Jordan considers the IS to pose a real threat to the country and because IS militants attempted to cross the Syrian-Jordanian border.
The IS, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), has been fighting against Syrian government since 2012. In June 2014, the group extended its attacks to northern and western Iraq, declaring a caliphate on the territories over which it had control.
