NATO Unlikely to Assume 'Combat Role' in Anti-Daesh Fight

NATO forces will not engage in a "combat role" in the struggle against Daesh militant group, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday.

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — He added that all the NATO allies are part of the anti-Daesh coalition, but NATO itself would not adopt a combat role.

"I think it is important to understand that it is not NATO that is going to go in a kind of a combat role," Stoltenberg told reporters.

According to Stoltenberg, NATO is expected to provide the coalition with AWACS (airborne warning and control systems) surveillance planes and to train local forces in their anti-Daesh efforts.

The US-led international coalition has been conducting airstrikes against Daesh, which is prohibited in the United States, Russia and many other countries, in Iraq and Syria since 2014 without the approval of the UN Security Council or the Syrian government.