Denmark Joins Coalition Against Islamic State Militants

Denmark Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt said Friday that her government wills send seven F-16 fighter jets to help  against the Islamic State in Iraq.

"I am very pleased that there now is a broad coalition, including countries in the region who want to... contribute," Schmidt said at a press conference, .

"We were asked to contribute in Iraq, it fits well with what the coalition wants. With regards to Iraq we have a concrete request from the Iraqi government," Schmidt said.

"The terror group Islamic State is a terrible organization that Denmark should help battle," she added, reports Yahoo News citing AFP.

The decision is expected to receive majority support in the Danish parliament.

However, Denmark wouldn't contribute to U.S. airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Syria, she said.

Schmidt said the Denmark would also think about giving military training to Iraqi forces. However , it must have sufficient information about the  assignment before undertaking it, she added, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Denmark's decision to join the coalition against the Islamic state comes in the backdrop of President Obama's call to world leaders gathered at the UN General Assembly meeting to join the fight against the militant group.

Danish lawmakers had given consent in August for sending a C-130J transport aircraft to Iraq. They had also approved to send 55 military personnel to help guard and load the aircraft.

Denmark had also participated in the in the 2001 military intervention in Libya,

Meanwhile, Belgium also announced its decision to join the US-led coalition to fight the Islamic State group in Iraq. Belgium will send six f-16 fighter jets to take part in the operations in Iraq, reports Newsweek.