UK PM pushing for anti-IS raids, Canada sticks to jets withdrawal

PanARMENIAN.Net - UK Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday, November 16 he wanted Britain to carry out air strikes against Islamic State militants (ISIL) in Syria but still needed to convince more lawmakers to back such action, Reuters reports.

"I have always said I think that it is sensible that we should: ISIL don't recognize a border between Iraq and Syria and neither should we but I need to build the argument, I need to take it to parliament, I need to convince more people," Cameron told BBC radio.

"We won’t hold that vote unless we can see that parliament would endorse action because to fail on this would be damaging. It is not a question of damaging the government it is a question of not damaging our country and its reputation in the world."

However, Cameron said he would take immediate direct action if British interests were at stake, citing drone attacks which had killed British militants in August.

Canada, on the contrary, will stick to a decision to withdraw its fighter jets from a mission against Islamic State militants despite last week's Paris attacks, new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.

But Trudeau, who took power in an October election promising to pull out the six jets, said Canada could contribute more effectively in other ways and was considering how it could step up an existing program to train local troops in Iraq.

"We made a clear commitment in the campaign to stop the bombing mission by Canadian jets ... and we have the mandate to do that," he said, according to Ruuters.

The six planes are still attacking targets in Iraq and Syria and Trudeau declined to say when the strikes would stop. The current mission runs out at the end of next March.