Germany to join ISIS fight

To support France’s effort, Berlin will send jets and a warship

BERLIN — Germany decided Thursday it could no longer stay on the sidelines of the fight against Islamic State, announcing plans to send planes and a navy ship to help the new international military alliance against the Islamic State group.

The decision to send four to six reconnaissance jets and the carrier was made at a meeting Thursday of senior ministers in Berlin.

The planned military action was a necessary strike against the militant terrorists, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told a meeting of lawmakers from her conservative Christian Democrats and their Bavarian-based Christian Social Union allies.

“It’s not possible to fight Islamic State with words: You have to fight them militarily,” Merkel said earlier. “We have to end the talk and act because of the high value we place on security, and this demands decisive action.”

According to media reports, Paris had wanted the jets to provide reconnaissance backup for the French military mission against Islamic State, which has claimed responsibility for a night of terrorist attacks in Paris on Nov. 13 that killed 130 people.

Staying out of the coalition was not an option for Germany if the country wants to keep the terrorist threat at bay, Defense Minister Minister Ursula von der Leyen said.

“Everyone can see that the problems will come our way if we don’t take care of them in a timely fashion,” she said.

In addition to the jets and warship, Germany agreed to deploy aircraft for the refueling of coalition fighter jets, and to send satellite reconnaissance information. The warship is likely to provide backup to the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, which has been sent to the eastern Mediterranean.