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Moving on ... Australian troops will be retasked
AUSTRALIAN soldiers are to step up their duties in Iraq to provide front-line combat support for coalition troops.
Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said Australian forces would move to a new "overwatch" role supporting Iraqi soldiers, in response to a request from Iraq's government.
A spokesman for Dr Nelson said today it would involve stepping up duties for the Australian troops currently on rotation in Iraq as part of Operation Catalyst.
The overwatch duties will be a significant change in operations for Australian troops, who are currently providing support for Japanese engineers in a relatively secure part of southern Iraq.
"It's more than what they're doing with the Japanese engineers," a spokesman for Dr Nelson said today.
Overwatch was "a support program" that involved "providing covering fire to coalition allies in Iraq."
While numbers of troops assigned to overwatch duties are yet to be agreed, those on the new mission are likely to be operating in more hostile environments than their current posting with the Al-Mutthana Task Group.
"Australian troops have done much more than this before," the minister's spokesman said, "but it is a change for the troops that are there at the moment.
"They are stepping up their operations."
Australia has about 450 troops in southern Iraq engaged in training the Iraq military and guarding Japanese military engineers.
"We will move some time over the next three to four months pending the movement of the Japanese to supporting the overwatch program," Dr Nelson said on ABC radio.
"So what we will be doing is we will be supporting the Iraqi security forces, Iraqi police and Iraqi local government in administering and managing their own affairs. And we will respond to requests from the Iraqi government."
It is understood the Federal Government has ruled out sending Australian troops to Basra, where British troops have been stationed since the Iraq war in 2003.
The Australian deployment was initially scheduled to end around mid-year but Dr Nelson foreshadowed the mission would now continue into next year.
Dr Nelson said he had spoken with British Defence Minister John Reid last night about Britain's plan to withdraw about 800 of its forces from southern Iraq.
He said Mr Reid had made the point that Britain was marginally reducing troop numbers and would remain while needed. Australia would do the same, Dr Nelson said.
The timetable for a full withdrawal of US-led troops has been the subject of strong speculation in recent weeks, with some reports suggesting all coalition forces could be out of Iraq by next year.
