Merkel says Germany will do more in the fight against the Islamic

Hollande said it would “be a very good signal in the fight against terrorism” if Germany could do more against IS in Syria and Iraq.

Germany has not taken part in air strikes against the IS in Syria and Iraq, which have been mainly flown by USA and French aircraft.

The government had agreed on “difficult but correct and necessary steps”, said von der Leyen at a press conference in the Reichstag building, flanked by Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Attack survivors will appear as guests of honor alongside grieving families of those killed and diplomats representing countries of victims hailing from outside France. Larry is our main news editor.

A defense expert from Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats said on Thursday that Germany would send Tornado jets to provide reconnaissance assistance in the fight against the self-styled “Islamic State” (IS).

Germany may also offer to support the anti-IS alliance with an aerial refuelling aircraft, satellite images, and by sending a naval vessel to the Mediterranean, coalition sources told AFP.

Staying out of the coalition was not an option for Germany if the country wants to keep the terrorist threat at bay, von der Leyen said.

While the government had not yet issued a formal statement, Otte said Germany would go beyond its current arms shipments to and training of Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga forces combating the IS.

But during her Wednesday trip to Paris, Merkel was asked by Hollande to do “even more”.

“If the French president asks me to think about what more we can do, then it’s our task to think about that and we will act quickly”, she said, adding that the Islamic State “can’t be convinced with words, it must be fought with military means”. Merkel repeated her “we will cope” mantra and reiterated her argument that Europe must tackle the causes of the crisis by working for peace in Syria and engaging Turkey as a partner in the refugee crisis.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls suggested, in comments published by several European newspapers on Wednesday, that Europe should stop letting in so many refugees. The chancellor, who has been in power for a decade, urged not only Germans but also other Europeans to “show our free life is stronger than any terror”.

Islamic State militants have claimed responsibility for the November 13 attacks in Paris, as well as deadly bombings in Beirut and the downing of a Russian airplane on October 31 that killed all 224 people on board over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. The leader of the opposition Left Party, Sarah Wagenknecht, denounced that move by saying that it would provoke terrorists to carry out terrorist attacks in Germany.

“There are dangers. This is a unsafe operation, undoubtedly”.