Saudi decision to send ground troops to Syria ‘irreversible’

Saudi’s decision to send ground troops to fight Daesh in Syria is “final and irreversible”, the spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition said yesterday.

During a trip to Brussels to attend a NATO meeting regarding intervention in Syria, Brigadier General Ahmed Al-Assiri expressed readiness to send troops to Syria once the coalition has made a decision to this effect.

“Iranians back terrorist militias in Iraq and Syria,” he said. “There is no foreign side currently fighting the Daesh on the ground.”

The Saudi official said that diplomatic efforts to form an anti-terror Islamic alliance have been completed, and the alliance will come into force within two months.

Sources said that Saudi Arabia proposed a plan to the international coalition against Daesh, this includes the contribution of special forces and is based on gathering intelligence and reinforcing troops deployed on the ground, which he described as “moderate Syrian opposition”.

The would-be Saudi ground troops in Syria will reportedly be joined by troops from the United States and would be confined to only fighting Daesh in Syria, not Iraq.