Bahrain Mirror: Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem mocked the announcement made by Bahrain in which the island kingdom expressed its readiness to join the international coalition against the so-called terrorist Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) in a ground operation in Syria, describing it as "a joke".

In response to a  question on this issue during a press conference, he said: "Are you kidding...Are you sure they announced that?!" "What a joke!," he sarcastically added.

Bahraini ambassador to Britain Fawaz bin Mohammed al-Khalifa had said in a statement that "Bahrain is ready to commit ground troops to Syria as part of a US-led coalition against the Islamic State," on Friday (February 5, 2016), a day after its larger neighbour and close ally Saudi Arabia announced a similar pledge.

The ambassador; however, later denied this statement and said that "what was attributed to him on this issue is not true."

Arabic Issue