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Last 2 Aust officers withdraw from Iraq

The last 2 Australian officers have withdrawn from Iraq, concluding a presence which started more than a decade ago in the 2003 war

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Source: AAP


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Just over a decade after Australian troops deployed to Iraq, the last two officers have been withdrawn.

Colonel Steve Saddington and Lieutenant Colonel Brian Hawke, attached to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), concluded their final rotation under Operation Riverbank and departed Iraq on Monday.

Chief of joint operations Lieutenant General Ash Power said their withdrawal marked the final chapter in Australian Defence Force (ADF) involvement in Iraq.

"The withdrawal of these final two officers brings to a close what has been a significant commitment by the Australian Army and the ADF for more than a decade," he said in a statement on Tuesday.

Col Saddington was the senior military adviser to the Special Representative of the UN secretary general in UNAMI, and Lt Col Hawke served as a military adviser to UNAMI in Kirkuk.

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The ADF will also scale down its presence in Afghanistan by the end of 2013.


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