Australia is to expand air strikes on ISIL – but must change its law first.
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Australia is to expand air strikes on ISIL – but must change its law first.
Legislation will be amended to allow Australian forces for the first time to target logistics and support personnel of the terror group in Syria and Iraq as well as its active fighters.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull also told parliament on Thursday that there will be more steps to tackle terror threats at home.
“We must combat all of Daesh including its financiers and its propagandists. It is why we must give our agencies the powers they need to detect, to disrupt, to arrest and to target,” he said.
“Success requires strong laws, modern powers and importantly it requires social unity.”
Australia foreshadows expanding role in fight against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq https://t.co/zG5UdbqPSZ
— Reuters World (@ReutersWorld) 1 septembre 2016
By bringing domestic law into line with international norms, Turnbull said Australian forces would be able to operate as freely in Iraq and Syria as their partners in the US-led coalition.
The move will also offer protection to Australian service personnel from prosecution at home for military actions in the conflict zone.