Australia urges citizens to leave Iraq capital

Sydney, Oct 17: As the Islamic State (IS) advances near

, the Australian government has urged its citizens to flee the Iraqi capital.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade warned Australians Thursday not to travel to Iraq, Xinhua reported.

"We advise against travel to all of Iraq, including Iraqi Kurdistan," the department said in a statement.

It said there were 181 Australians who had registered as being in Iraq at present but there was likely to be many more who havenot registered.

The department said consular help was no longer available within Iraq because the embassy had been closed to the public.

"We will retain a diplomatic presence in Baghdad, but the embassy will remain closed to the public until further notice," it said.

IANS