SYDNEY - Australian special forces
troops will be deployed in Iraq to assist in the fight against Islamic
State militants, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Friday, and its
aircraft will also join US-led coalition strikes.
Abbott said in a nationally televised news conference the Australian
troops would be engaged in an "advise and assist" capacity to support
the Iraqi army in their battle against the militant Islamist group.
The United States has been bombing Islamic State and other groups in
Syria for almost two weeks with the help of Arab allies, and hitting
targets in neighbouring Iraq since August.
European countries have joined the campaign in Iraq but not in Syria.
Last month, Abbott sent aircraft and 600 personnel to the United Arab
Emirates in preparation for joining the coalition. He has since said it
was likely Australian aircraft would join the strikes to combat Islamic
State, which he described as a "murderous death cult".
While the involvement of Australian aircraft had been flagged, the
use of Australian troops on the ground in Iraq was not as widely
anticipated.
"Today, cabinet has authorised Australian air strikes in Iraq at the
request of the Iraqi Government and in support of the Iraqi government,"
Abbott said.
"Also, subject to final legal documentation, cabinet has authorised
the deployment of Australian special forces into Iraq to advise and
assist Iraqi forces."
So far Australian aircraft have been limited to humanitarian aid and delivering arms to Iraqi government-backed forces.
Australia is on high alert for attacks by radicalized Muslims or by
home-grown militants returning from fighting in the Middle East, having
raised its threat level to high and undertaken a series of high-profile
raids in major cities.
- Officials believe up to 160 Australians have been either involved in fighting in the Middle East or actively supporting groups fighting there. At least 20 are believed to have returned to Australia and have been said to pose a security risk.
- One man was charged on Tuesday with funding a terrorist organisation, while another was arrested last month after police said they had thwarted a plot to behead a randomly selected member of the public.
- Prominent Australian Muslims say their community is being unfairly targeted by law enforcement and threatened by right-wing groups, and there are concerns that policies aimed at combating radical Islamists could create a backlash.
- Abbott said Islamic State poses a grave threat to both Australia and the wider world and that Canberra could not afford to shirk its responsibility to contribute militarily to "degrading" the group's capabilities.
- "The Americans certainly have quite a substantial special forces component on the ground already," he said.
"My understanding is that there are UK and Canadian special forces
already inside Iraq, so we'll be operating on a much smaller scale but
in an entirely comparable way to the United States special forces", Abbott said
The Australian contingent in the UAE is made up of eight Super Hornet
fighter jets, an early warning and control aircraft, an aerial
refueling aircraft, along with 400 air force personnel and 200 special
force soldiers.
Source: Agencies
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