Danish Foreign Minister Confirms Pulling Fighters From Syria, Iraq

Danish foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen said that Denmark decided to withdraw its fighter aircraft from military operations in Syria and Iraq, but about 150 Danish specialists will provide consultative help to the anti-Daesh coalition.

STOCKHOLM (Sputnik) – Danish foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen confirmed on Friday reports on the country’s decision to pull seven F-16 fighters participating in an operation against the Islamic State (ISIL or Daesh) terror group in Iraq and Syria.

Earlier on Friday, media reported that Denmark decided to withdraw its  fighter aircraft from military operations in Syria and Iraq due to their involvement in a US-led coalition airstrike, which accidentally killed Syrian army servicemen in September.

“Denmark offers a new form of cooperation to the coalition, so about 150 specialists will provide consultative help. Today we also informed the [parliament’s] foreign policy committee that in 2017 the government will continue to support the coalition but, as it was earlier planned, will pull aviation,” Samuelsen said, as quoted by the Foreign Ministry’s press service.

Denmark is also going to provide areas liberated from Daesh, outlawed in Russia, with necessary aid, he said.

On September 17, coalition planes hit the Syrian army positions near the Deir ez-Zor airport, killing 62 servicemen and injuring more than 100, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. The attack was later confirmed by the US Central Command, which said that Syrian troops were mistaken for the Daesh jihadists.

The US-led coalition has been carrying out anti-Daesh strikes in Syria and Iraq since September 2014 without the approval of the UN Security Council or Syrian authorities.