Australian Defense Force chief Angus Houston said Wednesday that no Australian troops were hurt during an ambush on their armored vehicles in Iraq.

Australian troops serving in Iraq's southern province of Al Muthanna fought an intense gun battle after some unknown gunmen ambushed their armored vehicles on Tuesday night Australian time.

"While we were there, we encountered some people who had a go at us and ambushed us," he told reporters.

"There was a fairly large fire fight in which our people were able to use their skills and extract themselves without further incident," he said.

Houston said there were casualties among those who ambushed the Australian unit.

"We are investigating who those people might be. We suspect they might be militia forces," he said.

Australia sent 2,000 troops to support U.S. and British forces in the Iraq invasion in 2003 and still maintains some 1,400 troops in and around Iraq.

Source: Xinhua