AIRCRAFT STILL BACK ANTI-ISIL STRIKES

OTTAWA • Despite the withdrawal of Canada’s fighter jets from Iraq and Syria last spring, a senior officer says Canadian military aircraft are providing vital intelligence to allies for airstrikes and other operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

The Liberal government announced in February it was ending Canadian combat operations in Iraq by withdrawing six CF-18s that had been part of the U.S.-led bombing campaign against ISIL since October 2014.

But the Liberals left behind a Polaris air-to-air refueller and two Aurora surveillance aircraft. Those aircraft have continued to support the bombing campaign against ISIL, also known as Daesh, even as public attention has turned to the role of Canadian special forces operatives in northern Iraq.

National Defence said the Polaris has flown 544 missions and delivered more than 14,200 tonnes of fuel to allied aircraft over the past two years. The Auroras have flown 575 reconnaissance missions over ISIL territory.

Brig.-Gen. Shane Brennan, commander of Canada’s Joint Task Force-Iraq, described the work of the Auroras and intelligence officers as a “critical contribution” to the fight against ISIL.

“In military operations, the planning and intelligence preparation is usually a key to success,” he said. “In this way, we’re actually feeding into the larger coalition process and making a significant difference.”