US Asks Australia to Bomb Islamic State Group in Syria

The United States has formally asked Australia to expand its role in fighting the Islamic State group in Syria as part of the Washington-led coalition against the extremist group, local media in Australia said Friday.

The request has reportedly been sent to the the Australian Embassy in Washington, D.C. The Australian prime minister confirmed the request had been made Friday. The Pentagon wants Australia to send its six F/A-18 Super Hornet jet fighters based in Dubai into Syria to attack the militants in their stronghold.

"While there are processes that we need to go through and there's no decision that should be made lightly here ... we will carefully consider that request," Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott told reporters in Canberra.

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"I want to make very clear that the consolidation of a terrorist state in eastern Syria and northern Iraq would be a catastrophe for the world," he added.

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is already involved in bombing Islamic State group targets in Iraq since September. However, its aerial role in Syria has so far been limited to refueling and intelligence gathering.

The U.S. and its allies have conducted thousands of airstrikes against the group since September. However, some argue that the strategy is not inflicting significant damage on the Islamic States group as it continues expanding in Iraq and Syria.

Also, human rights monitors in Syria say that the campaign is causing many deaths among civilians. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said late May that 131 civilians had been killed in coalition airstrikes since September, including 42 children.

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