Australia has undertaken its first successful airstrikes in eastern Syria against Islamic State targets, the defence minister, Kevin Andrews, has confirmed.

Last Wednesday the then prime minister, Tony Abbott, announced that Australia would join coalition forces in an air campaign over eastern parts of Syria. The chief of the defence forces, Mark Binkin, said then that bombings would begin within a week.

Andrews confirmed that Australian planes had successfully attacked Isis targets.

“Two days ago, Australian Hornet fighter aircraft destroyed a Daesh armoured personnel carrier with a precision-guided missile,” Andrews said on Wednesday morning. Daesh is Andrews’ preferred term for Isis.

“Our aircraft are operating on an almost daily basis. The hornets at the moment, the Wedgetail command and control aircraft and the refueller.

“Two of our Hornets identified the personnel carrier, which was hidden in a Daesh compound,” he told ABC Radio earlier on Wednesday. “That information was reported back to the combined operations centre by our Wedgetail command and control aircraft, and upon receiving authorisation to proceed one of the Hornets employed a precision-guided weapon to destroy the target.

“This was done from a distance or height that preserved the safety of the Australian aircraft. We work within very strict rules of engagement, and those rules of engagement are to ensure as far as possible that we don’t have unwanted civilian casualties.”

The news of the successful mission was first broken in a statement issued by the US military, Australia’s partners in the region.



The statement outlines the three airstrikes conducted in eastern Syria: two against an armoured personnel carrier near al Hasakah, and one on a crude oil collection area in Dayr Az Zawr.

A further 15 were carried out in Iraq, in cooperation with the Iraqi government.

When asked why the Australian public had to hear the news from the US government, Andrews said he had been planning to include the announcement in his six-monthly statement to parliament, due today.



The assistant treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, told ABC TV that the airstrikes were all part of Australia’s commitment to be a good team player.

“We’re obviously hoping to make Syria safer and to stop the persecution of millions of people there as Isis advances,” he said. “We’re part of a broader coalition in Syria. This is part of Australia’s global responsibility that not only makes the world safer but also protects us here at home.

“We have an important role to play as part of the global response because if Australia doesn’t step up to the plate then very few countries will.”

Australia has 330 troops in Iraq on a training mission, although Andrews has ruled out sending troops to fight in Syria.

“We’re not contemplating boots on the ground,” he told Sky News last week.