Lt.-Gen. Jonathan Vance, commander of Canadian Joint Operations Command, and Brig.-Gen. Mike Rouleau, commander of Canadian Special Operations Forces Command briefed reporters Monday (January 19) on Canadian Armed Forces operations in Iraq.
Photo Credit: CBC

Canadian troops returned fire in ISIS fight

Canadian special forces returned ISIS fire in Iraq sometime in the last week when they went to the front lines following a planning session with senior Iraqi leaders, their commanding officer told reporters in Ottawa on Monday (January 19).

Brig.-Gen. Michael Rouleau, commander of the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command, said the forces came under “immediate and effective mortar fire” and responded with sniper fire, “neutralizing the mortar and the machine-gun position.”

The troops had been in a planning session several kilometres behind the front lines, but approached to visualize what they had discussed.

Rouleau denied that these events represent an escalation of Canada’s involvement. “The situation is a lot more nuanced than just saying, if you exchange fire with a belligerent force then all of sudden it’s a combat mission.”

David Perry, an analyst with the Conference of Defence Associations Institute, told CTV News it’s important to note that Canada’s mission in Iraq is “low risk,” not “no risk.

“I think to be effective and to actually be providing some kind of assistance and training that’s meaningful, you have to put yourself in a position where potentially you would come over fire.”

According to the website of the Canadian Armed Forces “Operation IMPACT is the Canadian Armed Forces’ (CAF) support to the Middle East Stabilization Force (MESF) – the multinational coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the Republic of Iraq.”

Last September in the House of Commons, the leader of Canada’s Official Opposition NDP party Thomas Mulcair questioned Prime Minister Stephen Harper about the role of the special forces in Iraq, and was assured by the Prime Minister that Canadian troops would “advise and assist the Iraqis” and “are not accompanying the Iraqi forces into combat.”

After Monday’s briefing, Jason MacDonald, a spokesman for the Prime Minister insisted Canada’s role was not a combat role.

“A combat role is one in which our troops advance and themselves seek to engage the enemy physically, aggressively, and directly,”said MacDonald. “That is not the case with this mission.”

More information:
CBC News – ISIS fight: Canadian special forces returned fire in last week – here
Global News – Canadian special forces returned fire with ISIS in Iraq last week – here
CTV News – Canadian special forces come under fire on Iraq front lines, ‘neutralize threat’ – here
Ottawa Citizen – Canadian special forces calling in airstrikes and shooting ISIL gunmen – here
Globe and Mail – Harper misleading Canadians about scope of Iraq mission, Mulcair says – here
House of Commons exchange Official Opposition Leader and Prime Minister – here
National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces – Operation IMPACT description – here

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