Julie Bishop has rejected suggestions the US-led coalition is failing in its war against Islamic State in Iraq, saying while there have been some wins and losses, progress is being made.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott is this week expected to commit more Australian troops to a new training mission in Iraq, adding to the 200-strong special forces team already in the country.
The Australian foreign minister denied the additional deployment was a sign the fight against IS was failing, saying defeating the terror group was always going to be a long term-objective.
"We're not just dealing with a military outcome," Ms Bishop told the Ten Network on Sunday.
"We're also trying to defeat an ideology and we have to come up with a counter-narrative so we can starve ISIL of foreign fighters, finance and support."
Ms Bishop dismissed claims Australia's involvement in international airstrikes had been ineffective, saying while there had been losses and gains, "overall we are making progress".
But she said the targeted air strikes could only ever have a limited impact.
"The Iraqi defence force will have to do the ground work that's required to take back street by street, town by town, city by city so they can reclaim their territory and protect their citizens that are being so brutalised," she said.
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