The history of Aussie troops in Iraq

AUSTRALIA'S MILITARY INVOLVEMENT IN IRAQ

Gulf War (1990-1991)

- Contribution: Naval Task Group in Persian gulf, 1800 personnel

- Troops in: August 1990

- Troops out: September 1991

- Deaths: None

- Coalition: Kuwait, US, Saudi Arabia, UK, France and others

- Why: A response to Iraq's invasion of oil-rich Kuwait

Iraq War (2003-2011)

- Contribution: Army, air force and navy. More than 20,000 ADF personnel over the period of the conflict

- Troops in: March 2003

- Troops out: July 2009

- Deaths: Two

- Coalition: US, UK, Australia, Poland, Peshmerga

- Why: To bring down Saddam Hussein and locate suspected weapons of mass destruction. None were found.

Islamic State conflict (2014-present)

- Contribution: Airstrike operations from eight Super Hornets, plus special forces

- Airstrikes: To begin in the coming days

- Coalition: US-led, plus UK, France and Arab States

- Why: To disrupt and degrade Islamic State extremists who invaded Iraq from Syria.