Canadian troops keep eye on ISIL
ERBIL, IRAQ • Canadian special forces have shifted their operations in northern Iraq to put pressure on Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in places outside the strategic city of Mosul — including along the border with Syria.
Rather than firing, now they’re mainly scrutinizing.
Atop a rocky hilltop Monday, two Canadian soldiers sat in a makeshift bunker located more than a kilometre behind the front line between Kurdish forces and ISIL.
One bearded soldier looked through a high-powered viewfinder, scanning the small community that lay below, while the other took notes. A camera sat between them in case something interesting appeared.
When the first Canadian soldiers arrived in the country in September 2014, their mission was to help train the Peshmerga to stop and hold back a confident and, until then, undefeated ISIL hoard.
Now, as ISIL no longer has the upper hand, both the Canadians and the Peshmerga have re-evaluated their strategy.
Flying by helicopter from Erbil, the Kurds’ capital in Iraq, to the Mosul Dam, one can see the barricades of dirt and defensive positions that helped the Peshmerga stop ISIL from overwhelming northern Iraq.
Kurdish forces, supported by the Canadians, kicked off a long-anticipated attack to free Mosul, Iraq’s secondlargest city, from ISIL in October.
But the Kurds and their Canadian comrades stopped short of Mosul, as planned. Instead, they shifted to fighting the extremist group in other ways and let the Iraqi military enter and clear ISIL from the city.
Briefing reporters on Monday at Camp Erable, the Canadian military camp in Erbil, a special forces officer said the mission has turned toward identifying and monitoring potential ISIL targets in the region.
That includes keeping tabs through optical sights and other means, on “key enemy movement corridors” between Iraq and Syria as well as areas inside and immediately outside Kurdish territory.
It also means a decline in the number of times Canadian soldiers have actually fired their weapons in recent months, the officer said, as potential targets are relayed to the Iraqis and coalition for destruction.
The special forces officer, who asked not to be identified for security reasons, said the nature of the Mosul offensive had meant Canadian troops often found themselves in situations where they were required to fire.
Capt. Dhyab Mohammed Omar, commander of the Peshmerga fighters, praised his Canadian comrades and the contribution they have made.
“We are always honoured to have them at our positions,” he said. “It was my wildest dream to work with the Canadians. Having them show up and help us, we would die for them.”