Syria conflict: German MPs to vote on anti-IS military mission

MPs are expected to back the controversial plan, a BBC correspondent in Berlin reports.

Tornado reconnaissance aircraft, a naval frigate and a 1,200 soldiers will then be sent to the region. But German forces will not engage in combat.

The vote comes after a French appeal following last month's Paris attacks.

On Thursday, British warplanes carried out first air strikes on IS targets in Syria after the country's parliament authorised the military operation.

'Staring into abyss'

German MPs are expected to approve the proposal later on Friday, although many admit they will do so reluctantly, the BBC's Jenny Hill in Berlin reports.

Some lawmakers have expressed concerns about mission creep.

However, ministers now believe Germany is now an IS target, and they also want to show solidarity with France, our correspondent adds.

"I would not have imagined two years ago what sort of an abyss we would be staring into," Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said earlier this week.

If approved, this would become Germany's biggest current military operation abroad.

The mandate will initially last a year and will cost €134m (£97m; $146m).

It will involve Tornado reconnaissance jets, refuelling aircraft and the naval frigate Sachsen, which will help support the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the eastern Mediterranean.

Germany's armed services association has cautioned against entering a conflict without clearly defined goals.

"I'm working on the basis that this fight, if it is taken seriously, will go on for well over 10 years," the association's chairman Andre Wuestner told German TV this week.

Green Party chairwoman Simone Peter has expressed concern about the legal basis for the mission without a UN resolution.

Until now, Germany's biggest foreign mission has been in Afghanistan, but that has gradually wound down to a force of just less than 1,000.

Last week, Germany agreed to send 650 soldiers to Mali, to join 1,500 French troops deployed to fight IS militants.

Some 700 German soldiers are also part of the Nato-led K-For operation to stabilise Kosovo.

(BBC)