UK Parliament to vote on joining air strikes against ISIS in Iraq - CNN

• UK lawmakers will debate and vote on whether Britain should join air strikes in Iraq


• The coalition government and opposition Labour Party have said they back action


• Prime Minister David Cameron has said any UK air strikes in Iraq are legal


• The motion before Parliament rules out troops on the ground in Iraq and action in Syria

London (CNN) -- UK lawmakers will vote Friday on whether Britain should join the international air campaign against ISIS militants in Iraq, after Parliament was recalled by Prime Minister David Cameron.

The vote is expected to be in favor but will be preceded by lengthy debate in the House of Commons.

The government insists action is legal because Iraq's government has requested international help to tackle ISIS, which has overrun vast swathes of Iraq and Syria and massacred religious minorities and Shia Muslims.

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Some MPs may be reluctant to back a bombing campaign in Iraq because of doubts over its effectiveness or unhappiness over previous UK military intervention in Iraq.

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But action has been backed by the governing coalition of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, as well as the opposition Labour Party.

Blair: A need to hit ISIS on the ground

Last year Cameron suffered a painful defeat in the Commons when MPs voted against action in Syria in response to claims the Syrian government had used chemical weapons against its own people.

The motion to be put before Parliament on Friday specifically rules out action in Syria unless a separate vote is held. It also rules out the use of UK troops in ground combat operations in Iraq.

Cameron: We should not turn away

Speaking in New York on Wednesday, where he was attending the U.N. General Assembly, Cameron said he was convinced that ISIS is "a direct threat" to Britain and that the nation should join international efforts against the group in Iraq.

"What we are doing is legal, it is right, it does not involve British combat troops on the ground. But as ever with our country when we are threatened in this way, we should not turn away from what needs to be done," he said.

"I am confident we will get this through Parliament on an all party basis, and I think it is right for our country to be united at this time."

The United States and its coalition partners began bombing raids in Syria this week against ISIS targets.

U.S. aircraft had already been carrying out air strikes against ISIS, also known as ISIL and the Islamic State, in Iraq since last month.

'Much bigger coalition'

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, told reporters that his party would support the air campaign in Iraq for a number of reasons, including that it is legal and has been requested by the Iraqi government.

Also, he said, "It's part of a much bigger coalition, a whole array of countries, crucially including a number of Arab countries which deprives ISIL of the ability to somehow portray it as a 'West vs. the rest' crusade."

Any action will not involve UK forces on the ground and the decision will only be taken after proper debate in Parliament, he added.

Labour leader Ed Miliband said his party also backed action in Iraq.

"We cannot turn away from the threat of ISIL which is a murderous organization, has taken British hostages, threatens the stability of the region and is therefore a threat to the UK's national interest," he said.

"I want to reassure people there is no question of committing UK ground troops."

ISIS beheaded a British hostage, aid worker David Haines, earlier this month and continues to hold another British hostage, aid worker Alan Henning. The group has also released videos of the beheading of two U.S. journalists, James Foley and Steven Sotloff.

Muslim leaders around the world have called for Henning's release.

They include Shaykh Haitham Al Haddad, a judge on the Shariah Council in London, who has said that "whatever your grievance with American or British foreign policy, executing this man is not the answer."

ISIS, which calls itself the Islamic State, has been ramping up its threats against the United States and the West.

This summer, the group declared the establishment of a "caliphate," an Islamic state stretching across the territory it has conquered.

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