Croatia Joins Balkan Anti-IS Coalition

Alongside other EU and NATO member states, Croatia has entered the US-led international Coalition against the Islamic State, IS, in Iraq and Syria.

Croatian media learned the news from the US State Department on Monday, not from the Croatian government.

Slovenia declared its role in the Coalition on Saturday, explaining the exact activities that will be undertaken by the former Yugoslav republic.

This is not the first time that Croatia has been less than transparent regarding Croatia's role in combating IS. In August, the Pentagon revealed that Croatia was sending weapons and other equipment to the Iraqi military and to Iraqi Kurdish fighters.

For now it is unclear how Croatia intends to contribute to the Coalition forces.

Defence Minister Ante Kotromanovic said: "No one knows what our obligations will be yet... but this is an opportunity to unite the world against this deadly evil.

"We cannot escape our tasks and obligations, and the role that we have undertaken in NATO," the minister added.

Elsewhere in the Balkan region, Albania, Bulgaria and Romania are all part of the Coalition as both NATO and EU members.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia - are also part of the Coalition.