Lord Dannatt: We must consider sending British ground troops to fight Islamic State

‘A former head of the Army has called on the Government to “think the previously unthinkable” and consider sending ground troops to combat Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.

Lord Dannatt, the ex-Chief of the General Staff, said he felt air strikes had “failed” to stop the advance of the extremist organisation and urged Parliament to debate deploying up to 5,000 infantry soldiers.

The fundamentalist group, responsible for the beheadings of several British hostages, has recently made gains in the Middle East by gaining control of the ancient town of Palmyra, in Syria, and the Iraqi city of Ramadi.’

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