Germany to send up to 650 troops to NATO mission in Mediterranean

A new NATO initiative hopes to stop jihadi militants in the Mediterranean Sea, Deutsche Welle reported.

The German military is pitching in to help via major troop commitments to the yearlong mission.

The planned mission will be tasked primarily with the surveillance of the Mediterranean Sea, but it will also have powers to search vessels suspected of harboring terrorists belonging to groups such as the self-styled Daesh.

Operation Sea Guardian also hopes to curb human trafficking and arms smuggling while assisting the European Union's border agency, Frontex.

Germany is expected to join the NATO operation, and could contribute up to 650 soldiers to the international mission in Mediterranean waters. The government will discuss the plan during a cabinet session on Wednesday. 

The ruling coalition aims to present a plan to parliament for approval shortly thereafter, presumably later in September 2016.

Source: MENA