US President Barack Obama’s plan for an international anti-jehadi coalition is a “strong message of support” for Baghdad and its fight against militants, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said on Saturday.
“We welcome that, and we have repeatedly called on our international partners for help and support because this threat is a very deadly threat... Not only to the people of Iraq or the region, but to Europe, to America, to NATO,” Zebari told AFP.
“This is basically our fight... But we need the support — our capacity is limited, and we need the support to enhance our capacity,” he said.
“Nobody’s thinking of any ground troops at this stage — they are calling for air support, for tactical support, for arming the forces on the ground, like the (Kurdish) peshmerga, the Iraqi security forces, and also to provide...Intelligence, reconnaissance,” he added.