Brendan Nelson (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Cowan for his question. In fact, as I have advised the House, in the new arrangements in Al Muthanna province in southern Iraq, our troops will be based in Tallil. Thirty of our soldiers will be involved in providing further training at the basic training centre in Tallil. Another three will be supporting education at the counterinsurgency unit, which is some 20 kilometres from Baghdad. The training and mentoring that they will be undertaking will be not only for the general support and training of the Iraqi security forces in Al Muthanna but also for border protection and support and training for those who will be undertaking border protection not only on the Saudi border but also on the Syrian border.

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