Abbott considers expanding fight to Syria

The US has asked Australia to support air strikes and carry out intelligence surveillance, reconnaissance and air refuelling in Syria’s border areas.

The US has a “freer hand” but Australia must ensure it gets the right approvals, he told Sky News on Saturday.

Despite Mr Abbott’s comments, government frontbencher Christopher Pyne said a decision on the request was yet to be made.

“[Tanya Plibersek] wants Australia’s Defence Forces to cease the airstrikes against Daesh and she wants our fighter jets to drop food hampers over Syria”.

He said Australia has already made a significant contribution, flying more than 900 missions over Iraq and training more than 2000 Iraqi soldiers.

“This is not an overnight event”.

The US ask for, which nearby media reported was sent to the Australian worldwide safe haven in Washington, DC, on Thursday, came as the Australian government said that it had halted seven youthful suspected radicals from leaving the nation this month to battle for activist gatherings in the Middle East.

Mr Abbott and Mr Obama are understood to have discussed the possibility of Australian air strikes in Syria during a telephone call in July initiated by Mr Abbott who had rung his American counterpart to offer sympathies over the Chattanooga shootings.

Canberra estimates that around 120 of its nationals are still fighting in Iraq and Syria, while at least 30 have been killed.

Ms Bishop says the situation is complicated by the non-recognition of the Assad regime in Syria but the US believes that because the border region is effectively “ungoverned space”, it has the legal authority necessary to bomb Islamic State extremists there.

“The argument for it is that we’ll never defeat IS unless we’re able to target their leadership and that means being prepared to engage in more aggressive air strikes against is targets in al-Raqqa”, he said.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten was briefed on the proposal on Monday afternoon, and he too wanted to see a united approach.

“We are not going to rush into this”.