Australia sends 53 to Iraq

2004-05-03 12:38

Canberra, Australia - The Australian government announced on Monday it is sending 53 extra troops to Iraq to help train the nation's fledgling new army.

Defence Minister Robert Hill said the team of 40 soldiers accompanied by a 13-man security detachment left on Monday. They will join 850 Australian military personnel already in and around Iraq.

Hill said the team would provide training in weapons, leadership and drill procedures for three Iraqi army battalions and a brigade headquarters staff.

"These soldiers will build on the outstanding work already done by Australian soldiers serving with coalition military assistance training teams," Hill said in a brief statement.

"They are providing a solid foundation of professional military skills on which the Iraqi Defence Force can develop from," he added.

A staunch US ally, Australia sent two thousand troops to fight in the invasion of Iraq and then replaced them with the 850 still stationed in the region.

The Australian troop commitment is looming as a major election issue later this year, with Prime Minister John Howard's conservative government pledging to keep them there as long as necessary, while the opposition Labour Party says it would bring them all home by Christmas.

There was no immediate reaction from Labour to Monday's announcement.

- AP