US defence secretary asks for Belgium's help in Syria

The United States has formally asked Belgium to extend its military mission against the terrorist organisation Islamic State (IS) to include Syria, writes De Standaard. The request was made last week in an official letter from US defence secretary Ashton Carter to his Belgian counterpart Steven Vandeput. "The letter has been forwarded to Belgium's prime minister and foreign affairs minister," spokesperson Tony Langone told the newspaper. "They will present the matter to the government for discussion."

The Belgian government will decide in the coming weeks whether the defence ministry goes along with the request. In the case of a positive answer, the country will resume its participation in operation Inherent Resolve , which carries out bombings of strategic IS targets under US initiative.

Belgium's foreign affairs minister Didier Reynders has already replied in favour of the mission. "I think we can not limit ourselves to actions in Iraq, while the terrorist groups are crossing the border,” he said on radio station Bel-RTL. Reynders also pointed out that the Netherlands and Denmark have already agreed to extend their military action into Syria.

"We will discuss the matter in parliament,” Reynders concluded.