1ST LEAD German jets head for Turkey as opposition says deployment illegal By Michael Fischer, dpa

Jagel, Germany (dpa) - Two Tornado jets took off from Jagel airbase in the north of Germany on Thursday bound for Incirlik in southern Turkey, from where they will fly reconnaissance missions in support of the US-led campaign to defeat the Islamic State militant group.An A400M - the new military transport built by Airbus - left Cologne/Bonn airbase with support staff and equipment, as did an Airbus A310 converted to a tanker aircraft to help with air-to-air refuelling operations in the region.Four more Tornados are to follow. Germany is deploying a total of six Tornados in a reconnaissance role. They will not participate in bombing attacks on Islamic State, which has seized a large swathe of territory in Syria and Iraq.Germany‘s contribution of 1,200 military personnel includes the frigate Augsburg, which is already off the Syrian coast supporting the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, from which French fighter bombers are attacking Islamic State targets.As the initial aircraft took off, a legal opinion commissioned by Germany‘s hard-left Die Linke party concluded the deployment could not be justified under international law."The legal justification relied on by the German government for the deployment of German military forces to Syria is unsustainable," said the 11-page opinion drafted by Norman Paech, a retired professor of law.The party, which holds 64 of the 631 seats in the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, said it intended to formally present Paech‘s opinion to parliament Thursday.Paech, a former member of the Bundestag and Hamburg University professor, noted in his opinion that the Syrian state was not responsible for terrorist attacks, such as those carried out in Paris on November 13.For that reason, no airstrikes may be carried out on Syrian territory without Damascus‘ permission, he wrote.The German government is using the UN Charter, which includes "the inherent right of collective or individual self-defence" in the face of armed attack, to justify its decision.Paech said he believed the UN Charter does not apply in this case. "International law insists as always that a state can only be attacked if the terrorist attacks emanating from its territory can be attributed to it," he said.It was not immediately clear what effect the move by the Left Party would have with experts suggesting it would be difficult to challenge the decision taken by the Bundestag.