AFP – 06 Oct. 2014 – Dutch F-16 fighter bombers on Sunday began flights over Iraq and are ready to join the campaign against the Islamic State group (IS), the defense ministry said on Sunday.
“Dutch F-16s flew today over the conflict zone in Iraq for the first time,” the ministry said in a statement.
The planes are now “completely ready to be deployed over Iraq.”
The F-16s will be used as close air support; backing up Iraqi and Kurdish ground troops fighting IS militants.
The United States has been building an international coalition for an air campaign against IS since first launching air strikes in August.