WASHINGTON: The Pentagon on Friday welcomed Saudi Arabia’s pledge to commit ground forces to fight Islamic State jihadists in Syria, should the US-led coalition ever send in combat troops.
The United States has for weeks been calling on partners in the 65-member coalition bombing the IS group in Iraq and Syria to contribute more, and last month Defense Secretary Ashton Carter chastised some countries for doing “nothing at all.”
Saudi Arabia has been part of the coalition since late 2014. Though it carried out high-profile initial air strikes against the jihadists in Syria, its participation and that of other Gulf members dropped as they shifted focus to striking conflict-torn Yemen.
“We welcome the announcement by Saudi Arabia that they are looking into ways to enhance their counter-ISIL efforts,” US Central Command spokesman Pat Ryder said, using an alternative acronym for the IS group.
