Australia and Britain Step Up Iraq
War Involvement
Australia's government announced that Australian
troops will be deployed in Iraq, as Britain's Prime
Minister said he will send two more Tornado planes
to participate in air strikes against the Islamic
State group.
 Australia's
Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced Friday that
Royal Australian Air Force will actively participate
in the air strikes against the Islamic State group (I.S.).
In an unexpected move, the PM also said that
Australian troops will be deployed in Iraq to assist
in the fight.
During a nationally televised press conference,
Abbott said that the troops would be engaged in an
"advise and assist" capacity to support the Iraqi
army.
"Today, cabinet has authorized Australian air
strikes in Iraq at the request of the Iraqi
Government and in support of the Iraqi government,"
said Abbott.
"Also, subject to final legal documentation, cabinet
has authorized the deployment of Australian special
forces into Iraq to advise and assist Iraqi forces."
added the PM.
Last
month, Abbott sent aircraft and 600 personnel to the
United Arab Emirates in preparation for joining the
coalition. On Wednesday he said that Australian
aircraft would join the air U.S.-led coalition
against I.S in an initial support role, but did not
mention the involvement of Australian ground troops.
"My
understanding is that there are U.K. 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."
said Abbot.
So
far Australian aircraft have been limited to
humanitarian aid and delivering arms to Iraqi
government-backed forces.
Britain has also announced it is stepping up it
involvement in Iraq, by sending more aircraft.
Cameron said on Thursday that he would send two more
Tornado GR4 planes to participate in the air strikes
against I.S militants in Iraq, in addition to the
six that are already active in the strikes.
“Less than a week into combat operations in Iraq, I
wanted to come here to thank our troops for the
vital work they’re doing to defeat these barbaric
Isil terrorists who threaten security not just in
Iraq, Syria and the region, but on the streets of
Britain too.” said the PM as he visited Britain's
Royal Air Force base in Cyprus. Britain's air
strikes against I.S launched from Cyprus. According
to The Guardian, Cameron's visit is a sign that he
does not expect the operations in Iraq to end soon.
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
neighboring Iraq since August.
A
number of European countries have joined the
campaign in Iraq but not in Syria.
(Taken from TeleSur)
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