Australia allows army to join anti-terrorism fight

Australia's armed forces have been authorised by the government to take part in the fight against terrorism in the country, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced on Monday.

The changes will allow the military to provide anti-terrorism training to the police, who will continue to spearhead counter-terrorism efforts in the country, reports Efe news.

"The measures that I'm announcing today will ensure that the ADF (Australian Defence Force) is more readily available to respond to terrorism incidents, providing state and territory police with the extra support to call on when they need it," Turnbull said during a visit to military barracks in Sydney.

"Our enemies are agile and innovative. We have to stay ahead of them," he added.

Australia raised the terror alert for the country to high in September 2014 and has passed a series of anti-terrorism laws to prevent attacks on its territory.

However, since then, the country has witnessed several terrorist attacks, the worst among them was a 17-hour long siege in a cafe in Sydney in December 2014 that resulted in the death of three people.

--IANS

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