Obama welcomes British vote to join Syria's counter-IS campaign

WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama on Wednesday welcomed a vote by the British parliament to launch strikes against Islamic State (IS) in Syria.

"We look forward to having British forces flying with the Coalition over Syria, and will work to integrate them into our Coalition Air Tasking Orders as quickly as possible," Obama said in a statement, adding Britain is one of the "most valued partners" in fighting IS.

The British House of Commons on Wednesday voted to support a government motion on extending British airstrikes against IS in Syria. Britain has been bombing IS in Iraq since the House of Commons voted to authorize airstrikes in the Middle East country in September 2014.

In the statement, Obama also welcomed the German cabinet's approval of a mandate for military assistance to support the fight against IS.

According to the mandate, German armed forces will provide aid in military reconnaissance and logistics by making available reconnaissance satellite and reconnaissance planes as well as tanker aircraft.