Australia moves to protect troops, diplomats in Iraq

The Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, has told the chief of the Australian defense force “to take whatever actions are necessary to protect and defend” Australian troops and diplomats in Iraq, The Guardian reports.
This may involve pulling Australian troops out of the country. Earlier, the foreign minister Marise Payne said Australia was contemplating the “possible implications” of being forced to withdraw troops by the Iraqi government.
Australia’s military commitment in the Middle East is numerically small - about 450 personnel - but as an unswerving US ally, Australia’s presence in Iraq is symbolically significant, and its withdrawal would be a blow to the US-led coalition.