Aussies fighting in Syria said to have crossed border with extremist Islamist terror group marching on Baghdad

SEVERAL Australians are believed to have joined a terrorist group which has captured two cities in Iraq as US President Barack Obama said he would not rule out air strikes against the extremists.

An image downloaded on June 11, 2014 from the jihadist website Welayat Salahuddin shows militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) waving the trademark Islamists flag after they allegedly seized an Iraqi army checkpoint in the northern Iraqi province of Salahuddin. Jihadists are pushing toward Baghdad on June 12, 2014 after capturing a town just hours to the north, as the US mulled air strikes in a bid to bolster Iraq's collapsing security forces. AFP PHOTO / HO / WELAYAT SALAHUDDIN === RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / HO / WELAYAT SALAHUDDIN" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS FROM ALTERNATIVE SOURCES, AFP IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DIGITAL ALTERATIONS TO THE PICTURE'S EDITORIAL CONTENT, DATE AND LOCATION WHICH CANNOT BE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED ===

SEVERAL Australians are believed to have joined a terrorist group which has captured two cities in Iraq as US President Barack Obama said he would not rule out air strikes against the extremists.

US officials have told The Saturday Telegraph they suspect Australians fighting in Syria have crossed the border with ISIL, an extremist Islamist terror group which is marching toward Baghdad.

Following a meeting with Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Mr Obama warned of the shared risks for Australia and the US of having its own ­citizens returning from these war zones as jihadists.

“We discussed the situation in the Middle East and the concerns we have around Iraq and Syria,” Mr Obama said after a meeting at the White House with Mr Abbott.

“Both our countries are potentially threatened by ­jihadists and freedom ­fighters, as they call them, that are going into Syria, getting trained in terrorist tactics and then potentially coming back to our countries and could end up being a significant threat to our homeland.”

Refugees fleeing from Mosul head to the self-ruled northern Kurdish region in Irbil, Iraq, 350 kilometres north of Baghdad. Picture: AP

Mr Obama said the US was looking at a number of options to intervene and stop the bloodshed, and he would not rule anything out.

“What we’ve seen over the last couple of days indicates Iraq’s going to need more help from the United States and other nations,” he said.

“I don’t rule out anything because we do have a stake in making sure these jihadists are not getting a permanent foothold in Iraq — or Syria, for that matter.’’

A White House spokesman later said Mr Obama was referring to air strikes: “We’re not considering boots on the ground.”

Iraqi refugees from Mosul at Khazir refugee camp outside Irbil, 350km north of Baghdad, Iraq. Picture: AP

An image made available by the jihadist Twitter account Al-Baraka news on June 11 allegedly shows Iraqi security forces vehicles captured by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants. Picture: AFP/Albaraka News

Mr Abbott also did not rule out military intervention by Australia: “I hope it doesn’t come to that of course but this is a serious situation and it does need to be dealt with. The Iraqi government is extraordinarily concerned about the very rapid advance this al-Qaeda group seems to be making against its own forces.’’

Australian authorities fear the new Islamic hotspot could draw more young ­Muslims to the fight.

NSW police would not comment on the US belief Australians were now part of the latest conflict.

“We do know a number of young men from Sydney and elsewhere in Australia have flown to Syria in the past few years,’’ Counter-Terrorism Unit head Peter Dein said.

It is believed more than 200 Australians are fighting in Syria. ASIO has seized passports from a number of citizens, including men from southwest Sydney, over fears they would travel to Syria and other areas of conflict.

Originally published as Aussies fighting in Syria said to have crossed border with extremist Islamist terror group marching on Baghdad