Aust to send military force to Middle East

AUSTRALIA TO SEND 600-STRONG MILITARY FORCE TO MIDDLE EAST:

* Four hundred air personnel and 200 military personnel

* Eight Royal Australian Air Force F/A18 combat Super Hornet aircraft

* An E-7A Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft

* A KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker and Transport aircraft

* A contingent of Special Forces to act as advisers to Iraqi soldiers

* No commitment yet to combat operations or ground troops

* Involvement to span many months not weeks

* Some Australian defence personnel to be based in US military headquarters

CONTRIBUTION SO FAR:

* RAAF Hercules and Globemaster aircraft have completed two humanitarian air drops and airlifted arms and munitions to Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq.

KEY QUOTES:

Prime Minister Tony Abbott - "Australia is prepared to engage in international operations to disrupt and degrade ISIL because of the threat that this murderous death cult poses not just to the people of Iraq, not just to the people of the Middle East, but to the whole world including Australia."

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten: "This evil organisation must be defeated and their fighting capacity disabled."

Greens leader Christine Milne: "This is an open ended commitment to the United States to send young men and women from Australia, to Iraq with no plan, no exit strategy, no timeframe and no definition of success."