MOSCOW, October 10 (RIA Novosti) - The Spanish parliament may approve the sending of 300 soldiers to Iraq to train the country's army to help the Iraqi government fight the Islamic State (IS), The Local reported on Friday.
If the parliament approves the decision, the arrival of Spanish soldiers in Iraq will be the first since the withdrawal of the Spanish troops from the country ordered by then-Prime Minister of Spain Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in April 2004.
This contingent will be a confirmation of support from the Spanish government to the international coalition led by the United States.
Earlier on Thursday, Spanish Defense Minister Pedro de Morenes said in an interview with the Cadena SER radio station that he was not going to specify what the Spanish contribution would be, because the Cabinet would decide this issue on Friday. The minister added that Spain wold not bomb and fight the Islamic State on the ground.
The IS is a sectarian Sunni Muslim militia also known at the State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). It has seized large parts of Iraq and Syria and proclaimed an Islamic caliphate on the areas it controls. Its rapid advance in northern Iraq triggered a response from Washington, which launched airstrikes against the insurgents fighting on Iraqi soil in August. The military action has been subsequently extended to Syria with an international coalition set up to defeat the extremists.
According to the US State Department, the coalition currently comprises more than 60 countries, including the Arab league and a number of European countries.
