BERLIN: Germany’s lower house of parliament on Friday approved government plans to join the military campaign against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria.
Of the 598 politicians who took part in the vote, 445 voted for, 146 against and seven abstained.
The mission will include sending six Tornado reconnaissance jets, a frigate to help protect the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, refueling aircraft and up to 1,200 military personnel.
Germany will not join countries like Britain, France, the United States and Russia in conducting air strikes
The green light for the mission that could become Germany’s biggest deployment abroad comes three weeks after jihadists killed 130 people in a series of attacks in Paris.
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The atrocities prompted France to invoke a clause requiring EU states to provide military assistance to wipe out ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
Britain joined the US-led bombing campaign over Syria on Thursday, striking an ISIS-held oil field as the momentum to take action against the jihadist group increases.
After repeatedly ruling out the use of “boots on the ground”, President Barack Obama also agreed to send as many as 100 Special Forces to Iraq, with a mandate to carry out raids inside Syria (Telegraph)