Australia says no plans to take south Iraq control
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-07-11 14:22

Australia has not discussed taking over military command in southern Iraq from Britain, the government said on Monday after it was reported that London wanted to free up British troops for redeployment to Afghanistan.

Britain's The Sunday Times newspaper reported Australia and Britain were already in talks for a handover, while Britain's Mail on Sunday newspaper said Britain and the United States were planning to halve troop levels in Iraq by mid-2006.

The Sunday Times reported that Australian Prime Minister John Howard would discuss the handover plan with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and President Bush during a visit to Washington and London next week.

"There haven't been any discussions between the Australian government or Australian defense officials about that and it was frankly news to me," Howard told reporters in Sydney.

"The story in the London Sunday Times is not based on any discussions of which I have any knowledge," he said.

Australia has 1,370 defense personnel in and around Iraq, including 450 troops protecting Japanese engineers and training the Iraqi army. The Australian newspaper reported an extra 200 to 300 troops would be needed to take over command in southern Iraq.

Canberra will consider on Tuesday redeploying troops to Afghanistan, where it now has one army officer, to boost its war on terrorism and hunt for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, blamed for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. "We are tomorrow looking at the question of whether we should make an additional commitment to Afghanistan. We'll look at all the facts and circumstances," Howard said.

The Sunday Times reported that Britain is due to announce within weeks that it will send several thousand soldiers to Afghanistan, where the United States commands an 18,300-strong international force, most of them American.

The Mail on Sunday newspaper reported that a memo written by British Defense Minister John Reid said Britain would reduce its troop numbers in Iraq to 3,000 from 8,500 by mid-2006.

The memo said Washington planned to cut its Iraq forces to 66,000 from about 140,000 by early 2006.

"John Howard must not be suckered into having Australian troops hold the baby while everybody else leaves," Robert McClelland, defense spokesman for Australia's center-left opposition Labor party, said in a statement.