Singapore to join coalition against IS militants

Singapore said on Monday it will provide military support to the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group but would not take part in combat operations, while Canadian jet fighters attacked IS positions in Iraq for the first time on Sunday.

Singaporean Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said the Singapore Armed Forces will deploy officers to the US Central Command and the Combined Joint Task Force Headquarters spearheading the campaign in Iraq and Syria.

Singapore, which has one of Asia's best-equipped armed forces, has long considered itself a prime target for Islamic militants, particularly those operating in Southeast Asia.

Canadian Defense Minister Rob Nicholson said in a statement: "Coordinated with our coalition partners, two CF-18s attacked IS targets with GBU12 500-pound (227-kilogram) laser-guided bombs in the vicinity of Fallujah."

"All aircraft returned safely."

Nicholson declined to detail damage caused to the targets, indicating that such details would be provided during a news conference on Tuesday.

Canada conducted its first airstrikes in the anti-IS fight following two days of reconnaissance after joining the coalition on Thursday.

"Today's strike demonstrates our government's firm resolve to tackle the threat of terrorism and to stand with our allies against ISIL's atrocities against innocent women, children and men," Nicholson said, using another acronym by which IS is known.

In Syria, coalition aircraft hit IS positions in five separate strikes near the border town of Kobane at the weekend. The airstrikes struck five small IS units and destroyed three IS vehicles, according to US Central Command.

The attacks followed reports that IS had slaughtered scores of people from the Albu Nimr tribe, which had taken up arms against the insurgents.

AFP - Reuters