Kuwait backs alliances against Islamic State, but no troops

Kuwait's Minister for Cabinet and Municipal Affairs Sheikh Mohammad al-Mubarak al-Sabah speaks in his office in Kuwait City in this April 9, 2013 file photo. To match Interview MIDEAST-CRISIS/KUWAIT REUTERS/Stephanie McGehee/Files

DUBAI (Reuters) - Kuwait backs international efforts against hardline Islamist groups in Iraq and Syria although the Gulf Arab state's constitution prevents it from sending troops to fight abroad, a senior Kuwaiti official said.

Kuwait, a U.S. ally and neighbour of Saudi Arabia and Iraq, is part of a 34-nation alliance announced by Riyadh in December aimed at countering Islamic State and al Qaeda in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt and Afghanistan.