Arab countries offer to join airstrikes against Islamic state

A number of Arab countries have offered to join the United States in air strikes against Islamic State militants who have seized parts of Iraq and Syria.

 US officials disclosed this on Sunday, but declined mentioning which countries made the offers. But they said they were under consideration as the United States begins to identify country roles in its emerging coalition against jihadists who have declared a caliphate or Islamic state ruled under Sharia law in the heart of the Middle East.

It is believed that the addition of Arab fighter jets could strengthen the credibility of the American-led campaign in a region skeptical of how far Washington will commit to a conflict in which nearly every country has a stake, set against the backdrop of Islam's 1,300-year-old rift between Sunnis and Shi'ites.

A senior US state department official spoke in Paris: "I don't want to leave you with the impression that these Arab members haven't offered to do air strikes because several of them have.

 So far, France has been the only country to publicly offer to join U.S. air strikes on Islamic State targets, although limiting these to Iraq. Britain, America’s main ally in 2003, has sent mixed messages. It has stressed the West should not go over the heads of regional powers nor neglect the importance of forming an inclusive government in Iraq.

Just two days ago, the Islamic State stirred fresh outrage with a video purporting to show the beheading of British aid worker David Haines. British Prime Minister David Cameron called it "a despicable and appalling murder," and vowed to bring the killers to justice.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will meet British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond during a conference on Iraq in Paris on Monday. "I am sure that will be a topic of discussion," a second senior U.S. State Department official said, referring to the beheading.