Secrecy surrounds New Zealand Iraq mission after Australian revelation

New Zealand troops had begun heading to Iraq to help in the fight against Islamic State insurgents, opposition politicians said Wednesday.

But the New Zealand government has refused to confirm the claim.

The main opposition Labor Party said about 20 troops were understood to have left for Iraq Wednesday, the first of up to 143 New Zealand Defense Force (NZDF) personnel to be deployed to a joint mission with Australian troops to training the Iraqi army.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott told reporters in Canberra that deployment of troops would begin Thursday and would be operational by May.

However, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key refused to confirm any specific details.

"I can't tell you the exact timeframe we're going, what I can say is it'll be staged, so we're sending people over a series of times," Key told Radio New Zealand.

Key was asked why he was not talking about the deployment when Abbott had been commenting openly about the movement of troops.

"I don't think their defense force said that, and that's totally fine of course, but for whatever reason the advice we've had is not to say exactly the date when they're leaving," he said.

Labor Party leader Andrew Little said there was a total lack of transparency about New Zealand's deployment to "an unwinnable war" and most of the issues had no security implications.

"News from Australia that Kiwi troops are on their way to Iraq this week is another example of the culture of secrecy and unknown protections around the deployment," Little said in a statement

"We still don't know the exact nature of the arrangement which replaces a full Status of Forces agreement. If it had full legal immunity of prosecution for our troops then why hasn't the government released it? The fact they haven't may mean it's a second class agreement."

The opposition Green Party said the New Zealand government had repeatedly refused to disclose details that other governments had disclosed, including the exact nature of the mission, whether the troops would definitely not be involved in active combat and details of the legal protection.

"John Key knows deploying New Zealand troops to Iraq is a deeply unpopular move, which is why he has not been up front about the deployment," said Green Party co-leader Russel Norman said in a statement.

Last month, Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee revealed the government had reached an agreement with Iraq to give New Zealand troops the right to defend themselves during the deployment. Endi