Germany has signalled its readiness to provide military assistance - but no ground troops - in the battle against IS in Syria.
After meetings in Berlin yesterday, senior coalition officials confirmed that Germany will send six Tornado reconnaissance aircraft, already in use in Afghanistan, to Syria to detect IS strongholds and militant movements.
The planes are equipped with a special container on their underside containing optical and infra-red cameras, allowing real-time transmission of images of the territory below.
All images will be shared with France, Berlin has said, supplemented by additional material from a German military satellite, to be moved to an orbit above the region.
In addition, Germany's navy is likely to be ordered to send a frigate to assist France in patrolling the Syrian coastline. Another likely form of assistance will be the deployment of planes to allow air-to-air refuelling, already deployed in Mali.
Hours after Chancellor Angela Merkel said in Paris she would "think about" France's request further military assistance from Berlin, her ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) signalled its willingness to step up its involvement in the region.
"We won't just strengthen our training mission in northern Iraq but drive on our engagement in the battle against IS terror with reconnaissance Tornados," said Mr Henning Otte, defence spokesman of the CDU. "IS can only be beaten militarily, thus there can be no taboos on our engagement."
Not everyone in Berlin is convinced that military involvement is the way to go. Earlier this week Dr Merkel’s junior coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), insisted that IS “will not be defeated by military means alone”.
No sooner had the debate begun when it was bogged down by disagreements over which mandate would be sufficient to bring Germany into the conflict. One camp is arguing for a UN mandate before committing while another say post-war German restrictions require an explicit Bundestag mandate. Government officials said yesterday Dr Merkel's cabinet would agree a mandate as early as next week, passing it onto the Bundestag for debate and a vote.
"A UN mandate would be better," said Mr Rainer Arnold, defence spokesman of the SPD, "but we have last week's UN resolution and the obligation of Europeans to assist partners - both are robust enough."
Not all in Berlin are enthused by the plans. The opposition Left Party (Linke) have warned of an increased risk of terrorist attacks should Germany join a military alliance against IS.
