Canadian Bomb Experts help Iraqis clean up after fight with Daesh

By: BRUCE CAMPION-SMITH, Toronto Star

OTTAWA—A mission by Canadian military explosives experts in Iraq has been extended to help the country clean up the dangerous remnants of the battle against Daesh.

A Canadian Forces Griffon helicopter flies over a displaced persons camp near Erbil, Iraq on Feb. 20, 2017. Up to four Griffon helicopters remain in the region as well as two C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, a CC-150 Polaris air-to-air refueller, and up to 200 special operations forces. (RYAN REMIORZ / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Ottawa is weighing other military commitments as the Daesh fight enters a new stage but it’s already decided that the combat engineers who have been training Iraqi personnel in the safe disposal of explosives should remain in the country for several more months.

The Canadian soldiers — from the 2 Combat Engineering Regiment based in Petawawa — have been working since last fall as trainers at the Iraq Army’s bomb disposal school. That mission has now been extended to this fall, Brig.-Gen. Andrew Jayne, commander of Joint Task Force — Iraq told the Star.

“Every time the hostilities are over, the explosive remnants of war — not just mines — but unexploded ordnance are always a threat to the people, the soldiers,” Jayne said in a telephone interview from his headquarters in Kuwait.

American military officials say that this month alone, Iraqi security forces have destroyed more than 100 improvised explosive devices and other types of explosives.

“There is quite a focus on helping the Iraqis deal with this threat. That’s why we think this is an important contribution,” Jayne said.

Canada’s military contribution to the fight against Daesh — known as Operation Impact — has some 650 personnel deployed in Kuwait and Iraq. It includes a medical facility in Erbil, up to four Griffon helicopters, two C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, a CC-150 Polaris air-to-air refueller, and up to 200 special operations forces soldiers who advise and assist Iraqi and Kurdish forces.

While Daesh has been defeated on the battlefield, commanders caution that extremist fighters, hiding in the civilian population, will likely now turn to terror tactics.

“There are still remnants of ISIS who reside in a cellular structure who seek to bring instability to local areas, in particular population centers,” said Brig.-Gen. James Glynn, the U.S. officer who serves as deputy commanding general of the special operations joint task force for Operation Inherent Resolve.

“And that remains as it has for some time the focus of the Iraqi security forces and their counterterrorism forces specifically,” he told a briefing earlier this month.

That was echoed by Jayne who said that while the defeat of Daesh “came earlier than expected” security challenges remain.

“That’s why the coalition continues to evolve,” he said.

“Daesh no longer hold ground in Iraq but we do need to continue to support and train their people to deal with the aftermath. Dealing with those explosive threats . . . is part of that. But there’s also training for other groups,” he said.

Senior commanders are preparing recommendations to put before Gen. Jonathan Vance, the chief of defence staff, in the near future and a political decision on the make-up of Canada’s military commitments to Iraq are expected soon after that. The mission is due to end in March 2019.

“There remains a lot of work to do to ensure a stable and secure Iraq. We’ve been considering . . . as part of the process, how the Canadian Armed Forces is going to move forward within that context,” Jayne said.

Canada suspended the training mission by special forces operations last October after rising tensions and clashes between Iraqi and Kurdish forces.

While the counter-insurgency has changed, Jayne said Canada’s current contributions, such as the medical facility in Erbil, are still needed.

For example, he noted that the pace of operations by the Polaris air-to-air refueller to support patrols by coalition fighter jets has not slowed.

“Planes still fly and cover forces on the ground and our numbers of fuel delivered keep continuing to grow,” Jayne said. “I haven’t seen that rate drop off.”

He said it’s the same for the two C-130 Hercules transport aircraft. “It’s nonstop. The aircraft go in, they pick up cargo, move it to the next location, pick up people,” Jayne said.

“I’m confident that the resources that we have here today are providing a valuable contribution,” he said.

Meanwhile, Canada is helping Iraq on the governance front too. Liberal MP Omar Alghabra, parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, says he came away from a visit to Iraq optimistic about democratic reforms underway.

“Yes, security is still a threat but there’s a sense of optimism, a sense of promise, a sense of excitement,” the MP for Mississauga Centre told the Star.

Alghabra made a one-day visit to Baghdad where he was a keynote speaker at a conference on governance focused on a decentralized federal system of government in Iraq.

In his talks with local officials, Alghabra said he underscored the need for a governance system that lasts.

“Parliaments and politicians come and go but you need a system that works and you also need the population to have confidence in the system,” he said.

“The confidence really needs to be in the system as much as it is in the politicians,” he said Friday in a telephone interview from Istanbul.

He said he was encouraged by the steps taken so far as the government prepares a budget and sticks to a schedule for a parliamentary election in May.

“Don’t get me wrong, there are still a lot of challenges. I don’t think anyone is underestimating those challenges,” he said.

“But not only did I see willingness but I saw a roadmap and a desire to implement that roadmap,” he said.

Canada Assessing Iraq Military Role Post-ISIL

By: Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press

OTTAWA -- Military commanders are re-assessing Canada's future role in Iraq as declarations of victory over the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have been met with new rifts and tensions across the war-ravaged country.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced earlier this month that the country had been "fully liberated" from ISIL after the militant group, also known as Daesh, was cleared from the last pockets of territory that it had held in the country.

The proclamation capped three years of often intense fighting that first started when ISIL captured large swaths of Iraq and Syria in 2014 and declared the creation of a self-styled caliphate.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan told reporters following a visit to the Middle East this week that victory came faster than Canada and its allies had expected, and the focus now is on ensuring stability in Iraq after ISIL.

The military will present options to the government in the new year, though it seems evident that Canadian forces will be training Iraqi counterparts to protect against various threats from inside and outside the country.

Sajjan did not give any indication that the government was planning to end Canada's military mission in Iraq, which was extended this past summer to March 2019.

"The progress against Daesh has gone actually quite well, to the point where we are actually ahead of schedule based on our plan," he said by telephone from London, where he was meeting with his British counterpart.

"As you know, we've taken 100 per cent of the territory but a lot more work needs to be done to make sure that stability within the nation remains and the capacity building needs to start."

But despite ISIL's defeat on the battlefield, peace and stability remain fleeting in many parts of Iraq as long-standing divisions and tensions have started to re-emerge and even erupt into violence.

The most recent incident has seen three days of deadly protests in Iraq's Kurdistan region, where the main Kurdish political parties have turned on each other amid allegations of corruption.

The Kurds have also been at odds with the central government in Baghdad after holding a non-binding referendum on independence in September, which set off a series of limited skirmishes.

The federal government, which had largely ignored warnings of such a development for years, responded by ordering Canadian forces in Iraq to suspend all assistance to their Iraqi and Kurdish allies.

That order remains in effect.

There have also been complaints about the slow pace of reconstruction in Iraq, particularly in Sunni-dominated areas, and concerns about Iran's growing influence with the Shia-controlled government in Baghdad.

The government is also looking at what additional aid efforts are needed to rebuild the country, Sajjan said, and bring its various ethnic and religious factions back together.

"We're committed to making sure that we can continue the great work that has begun with the military but also making sure that the rehabilitation piece is there, that political stability also remains," he said.

Edmonton Helicopter Squadron Deploys to Iraq

The Canadian Press 

EDMONTON—The Canadian military has deployed 60 members of an Edmonton-based helicopter squadron to Iraq as part of Operation Impact, a mission to fight Daesh militants in the country’s north.

The Department of National Defence says the Royal Canadian Air Force’s 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron will take over from their counterparts from Valcartier, Que., who have been providing tactical support since October 2016.

The 408 squadron operates out of 3rd Canadian Division Support Base in Edmonton.

They will fly and maintain up to four CH-146 Griffon helicopters at Camp Erable near Erbil, Iraq.

Maj.-Gen. Christian Drouin, commander of 1 Canadian Air Division, says the squadron will provide support to both Canadian and coalition partners.


There are currently 830 Canadian military personnel based in both Iraq and Kuwait as part of Operation Impact.

“The men and women of 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron will continue to provide agile, reliable and dedicated service that Canada’s Special Operations Forces and our coalition allies have come to expect from the RCAF,” Col. Jeannot Boucher, commander 1 Wing, said in a news release.

Ottawa Appears Likely to Extend Military Mission in Iraq

By: Bruce Campion-Smith, Toronto Star

Ottawa appears likely to extend Canada’s military deployment in Iraq by several months as the fight for Mosul continues and then consider a longer-term plan for the counter-Daesh mission, the Star has learned.

The mission, which includes some 200 special forces soldiers on the ground near Erbil, plus air force crews operating reconnaissance and refuelling aircraft, was due to wrap up at the end of March.

Ottawa will consider what kind of military contribution is needed if Canada decides to recommit to the counter-Daesh coalition in Iraq. (RYAN REMIORZ /THE CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO)

But with Iraqi and peshmerga forces still fighting to reclaim Mosul and surrounding territory from Daesh insurgents, the federal government now seems likely to extend the mission by several months, a source told the Star. A final decision is expected shortly.

During the extension, the government will consider what kind of military contribution is needed if Canada decides to recommit to the counter-Daesh coalition.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan declined Tuesday to say what the government may do next but did say that consultations are ongoing with allies.

“That’s what we’re doing now is making sure that we’re talking to our coalition partners, looking at the situation on the ground. It is very fluid, and we just want to make sure that we have the right resources,” Sajjan told reporters on Parliament Hill.

“We will continue to look at any type of adjustments so that we are a responsible coalition partner,” he said.

The mission was originally launched by former prime minister Stephen Harper in the fall of 2014 and included deploying troops to northern Iraq in an advise-and-assist role to train peshmerga troops and dispatching an air-to-air refueller, reconnaissance aircraft and six CF-18 fighters that join in coalition bombing campaigns.

After taking power, the Liberals ended the bombings by the CF-18s but boosted the number of troops on the ground. More recently, Canada has taken over command of a military hospital in Erbil to treat casualties from the ongoing offensive launched by local forces to beat back Daesh (also known as ISIS or ISIL).

Though it’s ostensibly a non-combat mission, Canadian troops have several times engaged in firefights with Daesh insurgents to protect themselves or the Kurdish troops they are with.

Taylor: Canada’s Actions in Iraq are Sending Mixed Messages

By: Scott Taylor, The Chronicle Herald 

From 2002 to 2014 the Canadian military had one primary mission and a singular focus and that was, of course, the mission in Afghanistan. The rotations of contingents into Kandahar became so routine that the Canadian Army constructed a full-scale replica of the southern Afghanistan region at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright for training purposes.

Canadian Forces members in southern Afghanistan in 2006. 

In preparing for their deployments, troops would spend upwards of six months conducting exercises in mock Afghan villages with civilian actors playing the part of Afghans, including pretend local journalists because, as we all know, perception can soon become confused with reality.

We did not win the war in Afghanistan but those days of purpose and clarity have been replaced with a perplexing set of new challenges for the Canadian military.

We currently have approximately 200 elite commandos deployed to train Kurds in northern Iraq. These Kurds are battling Daesh — aka ISIS evildoers — and this is a good thing. However, the Kurds fly the flag of Kurdistan and proudly display that same symbol on their uniforms. As a show of soldierly camaraderie, the top-level decision was made to allow Canadian trainers to also wear the bright red, white and green flag of Kurdistan on their uniforms.

The problem with this practice is that Kurdistan is not a recognized state, and the Canadian government’s stated policy is to support a unified, post-Daesh Iraq (i.e., not an independent Kurdistan).

The Kurds have clearly stated they are fighting to establish their own country and will therefore not submit to the central Iraq authority that Canada purports to support.

The last Daesh stronghold in Mosul is under an allied siege that, although it may take months yet, will result in a Daesh defeat. At that juncture Canada will have to make some serious choices, as the most likely scenario will see the present allied, anti-Daesh coalition begin to battle each other for the spoils.

Since the summer of 2015, a contingent of approximately 200 Canadian trainers has been deployed to Ukraine on a mission that is due to expire at the end of this month. The rationale for our troops being there is to boost the capability of the Ukrainian military to resist pro-Russian Ukrainian rebels in the country’s eastern provinces.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been widely condemned for assisting the pro-Russian Ukrainian rebels with the provision of weapons and training.

But it begs the question: If it is wrong for Putin to take sides in a simmering civil war in Ukraine, even when it is on his doorstep and involves ethnic Russians, how can it be a good thing for Canada to be facilitating a military build-up on the other side of the battle lines? Training and equipping young men to fight does not seem like the smartest path towards a peaceful resolution in any conflict.

Then there is the commitment to put 450 Canadian troops in Latvia on a non-permanent, rotational basis beginning this June. The Canadian contingent is part of a 4,000-strong multinational NATO force intended to deter Russian aggression against Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. As full-fledged NATO member states, all three Baltic States have the alliance’s assurance of collective defence.

This virtual handful of NATO combat troops is being described by some as a tripwire, with defence analysts speculating that an actual Russian attack would capture the Baltic States within 60 hours — with or without these 4,000 allied soldiers. In other words, unless the NATO treaty is not worth the paper it is printed on, we are committed to protecting the liberty of these nations. Having our troops dangle as bait up on the Russian border therefore seems an unnecessary provocation.

Canada does not have an unlimited defence budget and therefore any money spent on building necessary infrastructure to house our contingent in Latvia means infrastructure dollars not spent on upgrading our bases here in Canada.

Then, of course, there is the long-delayed decision on where to send an additional 450 peacekeepers in Africa. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau remains adamant that Canada will send in this force of UN Blue Helmets — along with a mission budget of $500 million. He just still doesn’t know exactly where or why.

Almost makes one yearn for the good old days of the war in Afghanistan.

Canadian Special Forces Destroyed Explosives-Laden Vehicles In Iraq

By Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — Canadian troops supporting Kurdish allies have destroyed three explosive-laden vehicles with anti-armour missiles, senior military officials revealed Wednesday, as they started lifting the veil on what the country's forces are doing in Iraq.

Maj.-Gen. Mike Rouleau, commander of Canadian Special Forces Operations, told reporters the three suicide vehicles were charging the Kurdish lines and could have caused "mayhem" if they had not been destroyed.

"The Kurds do not possess weapons like we have," he said. "So our three engagements with anti-armour weapons systems prevented that from happening several thousand metres before they wanted to detonate."

The comments came amid an ongoing debate over whether Canadian troops in Iraq are involved in combat, which was further fuelled this week by revelations some of the more than 200 soldiers have shot first.

B.Gen. Mike Rouleau holds a news conference in Ottawa on Wednesday. (Photo: Fred Chartrand/The Canadian Press)

The Liberal government has been accused of hiding information and even misleading Canadians about the nature of the mission, after promising to end the combat mission in Iraq during last year's election campaign.

In March, they withdrew six CF-18 fighter jets that had been deployed by the previous Conservative government to bomb ISIL targets in Iraq and Syria.

But the Liberals tripled the number of special forces soldiers on the ground in northern Iraq to more than 200 from 69, even though they had insisted while in opposition that those troops were also in combat.

Military officers say Canada's "advise and assist" mission has evolved from primarily training the Kurds behind the lines to supporting Kurdish operations, but that the rules governing the mission have not.

Canadian troops not leading fight: Rouleau

Rouleau said Canadian troops are not leading the fight or engaged in any "offensive combat operations" as a unit against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or Daesh.

"We have never accompanied any leading combat elements," he said. "My troops have not engaged in direct combat as a fighting element in offensive combat operations. We do not plan on that basis, because our mandate does not allow us to do so."

Rather, he painted a picture of Canadian troops sitting on rooftops or hilltops with sniper rifles and other weapons, largely watching but also ready to protect Kurdish forces as they advance or civilians as they try to flee the fighting.

"rom deliberately-selected positions that maximize our utility to advancing Kurd forces, we have either defended ourselves, defended friendly forces, or defended civilians who are caught in the middle," Rouleau said.

"And we have done so with kinetic force against Daesh."

"My troops have not engaged in direct combat as a fighting element in offensive combat operations."

Rouleau said there has been a "substantial" increase in the number of times Canadian troops have fired on ISIL forces since Iraqi and Kurdish forces launched their attack to free the city of Mosul.

Only a minority of incidents involved Canadians shooting first, he added.

A former Ottawa police officer, Rouleau at one point compared the rules governing his soldiers in Iraq to those that dictate when a police officer can use lethal force.

"When confronted with a situation of serious bodily harm or death, a police officer does not have to wait to be stabbed. Does not have to wait to be shot at, in order to use force," he said.

"I think it's reasonable to conclude that we would not expect to deploy our soldiers overseas with any lesser ability to defend themselves than our police officers have in Canada."

Government playing word games: opposition

Rouleau's comments appeared to have no impact on opposition critics, who say the government and military are playing word games to fit the Liberals' promise of a non-combat mission.

"The Canadians Forces who are there need to do everything possible to protect themselves, to defend themselves, and to make a contribution to the mission,'' said NDP defence critic Randall Garrison.

"The point is that the Liberals promised they would not be in a combat situation, and they've clearly broken that promise."

Conservative defence critic James Bezan accused the Liberals of putting military commanders in an "uncomfortable position" by insisting that the mission be labelled non-combat.

"This is now strictly a supportive role, but it is a combat role," Bezan said. "We're okay with that. But the government should be open and transparent about what it is."

"The point is that the Liberals promised they would not be in a combat situation, and they've clearly broken that promise."

Much of Wednesday's briefing focused on the activities of Canadian soldiers near the frontlines in Iraq, but commanders also revealed that Canadian troops have provided medical assistance to 600 Kurdish and Iraqi government soldiers.

Rouleau and Lt.-Gen. Stephen Bowes, commander of the Canadian Joint Operations Command, also reiterated that Canadian military personnel are prepared to provide medical aid to captured ISIL fighters.

But Rouleau said there had not been any instances of that happening as the extremists prefer to fight to the death rather than surrender.

Canadian commanders were also adamant that the clock is counting down to the liberation of Mosul and the end of ISIL as a military force, though Bowes said the group will remain a threat to Iraq and the world for some time.

Military commanders are considering how the mission will need to change after Mosul is liberated, Bowes said. They will present options to the government to consider.

Still no Canadian weapons for the Kurds – will the small arms ever be sent?

By: David Pugliese, Defence Watch 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in February that Canada would be providing the Kurds with lethal military equipment.

That still hasn’t happened and the Canadian government can’t say when such shipments might take place.

The issue of arming the Kurds, now being trained by Canadian special forces, is highly controversial. Kurdish leaders openly acknowledge their intent is to eventually create an independent state. They argue it is their right to break away from Iraq, pointing to Quebec’s attempts to leave Canada as an example. The arms are needed both to fight against ISIL and to defend an independent state, Kurdish leaders have said.

In addition, some Iraqi MPs have spoken out about U.S. efforts to directly arm Kurdish forces, saying that is a violation of the Iraqi constitution. Turkey has also expressed concerns about the U.S. supplying weapons to Syrian Kurdish militias.

In the summer Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said the delay in providing small arms to the Kurds was due to bureaucratic roadblocks and not resistance from the Iraqi or Turkish governments. “We have to go through a process for us here in Canada but we have to respect the process in Iraq as well,” he said. “I’ve spoken to the Iraqi Defence Minister. He’s assured me once we have completed our process that he will expedite it.”


There are a number of Canadian regulations that have to be dealt with before the arms can be provided, Sajjan added.

Defence sources say Canada is trying to purchase the small arms on the open market.

Meanwhile, other nations are shipping heavy weapons to Kurdish Peshmerga forces.

The U.S. military already has outfitted such units with mortars, anti-tank weapons and armoured personnel carriers.

The UK Secretary of State for Defence Michael Fallon recently announced in the Commons addition equipment to be supplied. “We have supplied not only heavy machine guns to the Peshmerga but ammunition for those heavy machine guns,” he said. “I announced earlier in the summer a fresh gift from us of ammunition for those heavy machine guns, and that ammunition has now arrived and is being used.”



In August, Germany resumed weapons shipments to the Kurds. Such shipments were halted in January after it emerged that some of the weapons Germany previously supplied to the Peshmerga had turned up on the black market.

Germany’s latest shipment included 1,500 rifles, 1 million rounds of ammunition, three armored vehicles and 100 MILAN guided missiles.

Canadian General Admits he underestimated Iraqi Army

By: Michael Petrou, The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — When Brig.-Gen. Greg Smith first touched down in Iraq in February to advise and assist the Iraqi army in its fight against Islamic State militants, he assumed that ISIL had the upper hand.

Instead, what he found — amidst the grit and violence and destruction that has consumed large chunks of Iraq and neighboring Syria — was an Iraqi army that would not back down.

"They are crushing them in many ways and pushing them back," said Smith, the Canadian chief of staff of the Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command for Operation Inherent Resolve, the American-led coalition whose mission is to help guide Iraq's own forces.

In his first media interview since deploying to Iraq, Smith said he had underestimated the prowess of the Iraqi soldiers.

Much of the Iraq army had collapsed and fled when the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant — variously known as ISIL, ISIS or Daesh — swept through swaths of Iraq in 2014, capturing its second-largest city, Mosul.

And yet when he arrived, it was the militants of ISIL who were on the run, Smith said.

"I have to admit I was very surprised to see how badly they were doing once I got here and started getting read in on operations," he said.

"The Iraqi forces, notwithstanding perhaps somewhat of a poor brand based on how activities occurred in 2014, are quite honestly taking it to Daesh."

Smith said he was "minding my business" as commandant of the Canadian Army Command and Staff College in Kingston, Ont., when "my boss called me one day and said, 'Hey, you're promoted and going to Iraq.'"

He arrived shortly before Iraq announced the beginning of an offensive to retake Mosul by the end of this year.

Since then, Iraqi forces have been attacking northward toward the city along the Tigris River. They are supported by coalition airstrikes and, on the ground, by some 200 U.S. Marines providing indirect artillery support from a base near the town of Makhmour. One Marine was killed in an Islamic State rocket strike in March.

Make no mistake, though: the campaign to capture Mosul will be long and difficult, Smith warned.

"Even if this was the Canadian army trying to do it, this would be a tough fight," he said in a phone interview from Baghdad.

"But we're training with the Iraqis right now. We're doing that 'building partnership' piece. [The Iraqis] have begun operations to isolate that part of their forward line of troops. And I'm actually quite impressed with their tactical agility and their speed."

All of the military operations are planned and led by Iraqis, he pointed out. "This is not a coalition effort. This is us supporting the Iraqi government and the Iraqi forces. We support them with operational fires. We provide surveillance for them. We provide advise-and-assist (support)."

Targets for coalition airstrikes are chosen in consultation with the Iraqis, he added.

"We have joint targeting cells. Every one of those targets are approved by the Iraqi army, or if it's up in the north, it's potentially by Kurdish forces. That is done hand-in-hand. If the Iraqis or the Kurds say don't hit that target, that's not what we do."

Based in Baghdad, Smith is one of three one-star Canadian generals assigned to Operation Inherent Resolve.

Brig.-Gen. David Anderson leads a team that liaises with Iraq's defence and security ministries, a job Smith compared to that of the "strategic advisory team" Canada sent to support the Afghan government. Brig.-Gen James Irvine, based in Kuwait, is commander of Canada's Joint Task Force-Iraq, which includes all Canadians involved in the mission. He will be replaced today by Brig.-Gen. Shane Brennan.

While Smith's team works mainly with Iraqi regular forces, Canadian special forces are training and advising Kurdish peshmerga fighters in northern Iraq, where the Kurds are holding a line east and north of Mosul. It's an active front that ISIL often attacks.

Smith says Canadian special forces in the area, who are officially in a non-combat training role, sometimes work "from the forward line of troops." They have exchanged fire with the enemy. One Canadian soldier, Sgt. Andrew Doiron, died last year in a friendly-fire incident near the front.

The Kurds, however, are unlikely to take part in any direct assault on Mosul. The city lies beyond land they consider Kurdish territory. Most peshmerga, when asked, will say they are fighting for Kurdistan rather than a united Iraq.

That presents complications for Iraq's international partners.

"We are here supporting Iraq," said Smith. "This is a one-country policy from a Canadian perspective and from a coalition perspective. I've seen on the news plans for Kurdish separation, or whatever. I've heard [peshmerga and Iraqi regular forces] tactically work very well together. It's a respectful relationship. We're enabling both sides.

"As for the longer political solution, that is very much an Iraqi democratic problem."

Canada’s Special Forces face the risk of Daesh gas attacks in Iraq

Published by: Bruce Campion-Smith, Toronto Star, Ottawa burreau

ERBIL, IRAQ—For the first-time in more than a century, Canadians troops are facing a scary reality on the battlefield: the threat of a chemical attack.

Daesh militants have used mustard and chlorine gas in Iraq and Syria, the very weapons used to such horrific effect in the First World War that the international community outlawed their use.

But now Canadian special operations forces soldiers helping to mentor Peshermga troops in northern Iraq are braced for the grim possibility they could come under chemical attack.

Canadian special operations forces soldiers - a corporal, left, and a sergeant, right,- on a security detail in an area west of Erbil, just a short distance from the front line. (Bruce Campion-Smith/Toronto Star)

The chemical weapons employed by Daesh, also known as ISIS and ISIL, are described as rudimentary but coalition commanders are not discounting the threat.

“We’ve known that’s a possibility. Obviously there were significant stockpiles of these things in Syria and ISIL made no bones about the fact they were interested in leveraging,” Maj.-Gen. Mike Rouleau, head of Canadian Special Operations Forces Command, told the Star.

“We have always been prepared to deal with that threat from the very first days that we got here,” he said in an interview at a Canadian outpost, west of Erbil.

“This is something that we pay very close attention to. It’s a troubling development,” Rouleau said.

To help ensure the Canadian mission is ready to cope with the potential threat, the special operations forces command has deployed several personnel from its specialized branch responsible for dealing with chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats.

The deployment of the experts was to “make sure that our sampling and identification and decontamination regimes were all as good as they could be,” Rouleau said.

Canadian soldiers were among the first to ever face a chemical attack on the battlefield, when Germans deployed chlorine gas in 1915 in the Second Battle of Ypres; more specifically, the Battle of St. Julien. 

German Chlorine Gas Attack, 1915. (Wiki-commons) 

Now Daesh have been accused of using banned chemical weapons in both Iraq and Syria.

Gen. Jonathan Vance, the chief of defence staff, told parliamentarians earlier this year that Daesh possessed mustard and chlorine chemicals and had the means to deliver the weapons.

“It is rudimentary and relatively small-scale, but I don't take any solace in that,” Vance told the Senate defence committee in March.

“It could grow and it could get more dangerous if they were to get their hands on other types of chemical weapons, be they nerve agents or otherwise,” Vance said.

U.S. officials have confirmed that Daesh militants have used chemical agents in battle.

“We continue to track numerous allegations of ISIL’s use of chemicals in attacks in Iraq and Syria, suggesting that attacks might be widespread,” James Clapper, the U.S. director of national intelligence told the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee in February.

Days later, John Brennan, director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, said Daesh has access to “chemical precursors and munitions.”

“We have a number of instances where ISIL has used chemical munitions on the battlefield,” he told the CBS news program 60 Minutes.

Yet U.S. marines Col. Andrew Milburn, who commands special operations forces in Iraq, sought to put the risk in context.

“I’m the last guy to minimize the threat of chemical weapons but I think you have to put it in perspective and that almost all casualties in this theatre have been caused by high explosives or bullets,” Milburn said.

He suggested that Daesh lacks the technical skills to successfully deploy chemical weapons. “Otherwise I think we would have seen much more widespread use,” he said.

Instead, Milburn sees the use of what he calls “shock value” weapons as sign of desperation, an organization that is “flailing.”

“I’m not saying Daesh is down the canvas but they’re certainly against the ropes ... the last thing we want to do is underestimate the enemy but we have to be honest,” Milburn said.

“We’re not seeing a formidable organization anymore,” he said.

Rouleau agrees, saying that his soldiers face bigger threats in their Iraq mission, such as the danger of Daesh rockets and mortars.

“It’s just another one of the hazards that we pay close attention to,” he said.