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CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia says it will launch airstrikes against the Islamic State group in Syria within days, and will resettle an additional 12,000 refugees from the deepening humanitarian and security crisis in the Middle East.
Australia says it usually takes in 13,750 refugees each year.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott also says his government will pay an additional 44 million Australian dollars ($31 million USD) to keep 240,000 Syrians and Iraqis in refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.
Australia's six F/A-18 Super Hornet jet fighters based in Dubai have been bombing targets in Iraq since October last year. Now Australia is moving across the border, at the request of the United States.
The Australian government can commit to the Syrian campaign without asking Parliament. While Australia's opposition Labor Party supports military involvement in Iraq at the request of the Iraqi government, it questions the legality and purpose of extending the campaign into Syria.
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