Special forces under fire in Iraq
ISIL GUNMEN
DAVID PUGLIESE Canadian commandos recently came under fire from ISIL gunmen in Iraq, the deputy commander of Canada’s special forces said Thursday.
Brig.-Gen. Peter Dawe confirmed Canadian special forces returned fire when attacked. “These occurrences have been sporadic in nature and have not resulted in any Canadian injuries,” he said.
But citing a need for operational security, Dawe declined to provide the number of Canadian special forces there, how many times they were attacked or whether they have called in airstrikes in support of Kurdish troops.
“We’ve increased our presence significantly and to great operational effect,” he said. “We are spending more time with our Kurdish partners at the line overseeing operations.”
The emphasis on operational security at Thursday’s briefing marked a reversal of a policy of relative openness by the Canadian Forces as well as the Conservative and Liberal governments.
In the spring, Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jon Vance was accompanied by journalists on a trip to Iraq which generated publicity for Canada’s special forces. He allowed news crews to photograph the faces of Canadian commandos and interview them as part of the military’s public relations campaign for its operations in Iraq.
The Conservative government and military officers had previously announced Canada had 69 special forces in Iraq with the Kurds. Officers also provided details about firefights and the number of airstrikes directed by Canadian commandos.
This year Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced 200 more Canadian special forces would be sent to Iraq.
Dawe says a less-open approach is now necessary because the mission has become more offensive and Canadians are more often on its front lines.
Kurdish forces have been fighting for at least the last year, seizing ground from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and Canadian special forces have been advising on those missions.
Lt.-Gen. Stephen Bowes, commander of Canadian Joint Operations Command, said Thursday the campaign against ISIL is moving forward and that the extremist organization has lost ground.
“While it has been degraded, (it) remains determined to fight,” he added.
ISIL is expected to conduct hit-and-run attacks, becoming more of an insurgency than a force willing to fight set-piece battles.
“Progress can be slow,” Bowes said, adding that it “will take many years” to defeat ISIL.
Bowes said the Canadian Forces have also sent teams to Jordan and Lebanon to get a better understanding of how the military can help train their troops, a move intended to promote regional stability.