UAE stopped anti-IS airstrikes in December: reports

The United Arab Emirates suspended airstrikes against the Islamic State group in December, fearing the safety of their military personnel after the capture of a Jordanian pilot thought to have been burnt alive on Tuesday, according to reports.

Since Muaz al-Kasasbeh's capture, the UAE, a key ally in the US-led coalition against the militant group, has been critical of the US military's ability to rescue downed pilots, the New York Times has reported.

The UAE pilots will remain grounded for any anti-IS operations until the US search-and-rescue aircraft, called Ospreys, are based closer to Iraq and Syria, rather than in Kuwait, the newspaper reported.

Last week, UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan reportedly asked US ambassador to the UAE, Barbara Leaf, why the US had not put more assets in place in northern Iraq to recover downed personnel.

“He let her have it over this,” an official, speaking anonymously, told the New York Times.

The UAE was one of the first countries to join the US-led coalition and brings with it a collection of F-16s that had been attacking IS locations in northern Iraq and Syria.

In recent months, tensions have arisen between the US and the UAE over Iran's growing role in the fight against IS with Emirati leaders apparently expressing concern that the US has allowed Iran to join the campaign in Iraq.