Australians warned to leave Iraq
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is warning Australians in Iraq to get out while they can, suggesting Baghdad's airport might not be open much longer.
The warning comes after senior US military commanders admitted Islamic State fighters had advanced to within a few kilometres of Baghdad airport, and were pushed back only with the help of American attack helicopters.
The department's travel advice also calls into question the upbeat assessments of the situation in Iraq given by Australian military commanders, who claimed last week coalition air strikes had stopped IS fighters moving freely.
It was also reported yesterday that IS fighters were marshalling big numbers of tanks and artillery pieces in Anbar province for a final assault on a town just 40km from Baghdad.
"Australians in Iraq, including in Iraqi Kurdistan, should depart immediately while commercial flights continue to operate and airports in Baghdad and Erbil remain open," DFAT warned yesterday.
"Consular assistance is no longer available within Iraq."
At the weekend, US chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, revealed that IS fighters got to within 20km of Baghdad airport but were beaten back by attack helicopters.
"Had (IS forces) overrun the Iraqi unit, it was a straight shot to the Baghdad airport," Gen. Dempsey said. "So, we're not going to let that happen."
Senior Australian Government figures have privately questioned whether Australian troops will have time to train local Iraqi forces.
The Government is yet to sign a deal that will allow Australian commandos to enter Iraq.
But the acting head of the Australian Defence Force, Vice-Admiral Ray Griggs, yesterday rejected suggestions Iraqi troops were unwilling to fight Sunni extremists, saying they had been involved in heavy fighting across the country.
He also disputed the idea Baghdad could soon fall.
"People have been saying that Baghdad could fall in a week or three months," he said. "My understanding is that it is relatively stable and the Iraqi security forces are holding their own."
Vice-Admiral Griggs said Iraqi forces had been engaged in heavy fighting in the country's west and Kurdish forces were strongly resisting IS in the north.
