Minister: Army could contribute up to 200 troops to anti-ISIS ground operations

The Czech Army could send up to 200 medics and chemicals specialists in the case of ground operations against Islamic State, the Czech minister of defence, Martin Stropnický, said on a television discussion show on Sunday. Such a deployment would need to be discussed by the government and would need to take in the Czech Republic’s domestic needs, he said. Mr. Stropnický said there were many potential snags connected to ground operations in the Middle East and large states were reluctant to undertake them. It is “clear to everybody” that Russia must take part in any coalition against Islamic State, he added.