Australia will start negotiating whether it will expand its involvement in international efforts to counter the militant group ISIS in Syria next week, the country's Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Thursday. Australia is already part of the US-led efforts, but so far, its role in Syria has been limited to refueling and intelligence gathering. Last month, Australia received a formal request from the United States to expand its role in the fight against the Islamic State in Syria and probably deploy the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in the region. Abbott recalled the request from Washington and reaffirmed his readiness to fight against IS, which he branded a "death cult" that is responsible for "monstrous atrocities" and "medieval barbarity" in the Middle East. Vast territories in Syria, which has been in a state of civil war since 2011, along with huge portions of Iraq, are currently controlled by the Islamic State. A US-led international coalition, which currently includes about 60 countries, has been conducting airstrikes on ISIS positions. In August 2014, the coalition launched a bombing campaign against extremist targets in Iraq, later expanding the attacks to Syria. The advance of the jihadist group is also being countered by efforts from Iraqi and Syrian government forces on the ground, as well as Kurdish troops.
