ALGIERS
Algeria has declined U.S. and French requests to join an ongoing air campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) militant group due to "logistic and technical difficulties," an Algerian diplomatic source said Monday.
"Algeria declined a request last November to send two squadrons of warplanes to join the ongoing air campaign against ISIL in Syria and Iraq," the source told The Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity.
The Algerian authorities cited "logistical and technical difficulties," noting that the warplanes used in the U.S.-led campaign were western-made while Algeria's air force depended on Russian-made aircraft, rendering Algerian participation "logistically impossible."
"What's more, Algerian Air Force pilots aren't used to carrying out airstrikes in the region," he said.
There is also the matter of Algeria's constitution, which prohibits the Algerian army from joining any military actions overseas or serving under foreign commands, according to the source.
The Algerian government has yet to comment on the source's assertions.
The U.S.-led coalition – which also includes France, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, among others – has carried out hundreds of airstrikes against the ISIL, which last year captured large swathes of territory in both Iraq and Syria.
