Canada's Next Mission in Iraq - Awaiting Iraqi Approval

By: Lee Berthiaume, Global News 

OTTAWA – Canada is waiting for the Iraqi government to sign off before launching the next phase of its fight against the Islamic State militant group, Gen. Jonathan Vance said Thursday.

Canadian special forces are preparing to work with the Iraqi military to secure the war-ravaged city of Mosul, where Vance said ISIL remains a threat even as thousands of displaced families return home.

Yet before that can happen, the Iraqis need to form a new government – which has proven difficult following elections last month – and indicate whether it still wants international forces operating in the country.

“There are a number of factors affecting mission planning for Iraq as we go forward,” Vance said after an event organized by the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.

“The government of Iraq needs to form a government and signal its intent as it relates to future military operations by coalition or on a bilateral basis in Iraq. So that’s Job 1.”

Canadian troops have been largely on the sidelines in Iraq since October when Canada suspended all assistance to the Iraqi military and Kurdish peshmerga when the two clashed over the latter’s independence referendum.

Up until that point, Canadian special forces had worked almost exclusively alongside the Kurds for more than three years to first stop ISIL’s advance across northern Iraq and then to dislodge it from the region.

Since the suspension of assistance, ISIL has lost control of the last of its territory in Iraq and turned to traditional insurgency tactics such as suicide bombings, while tensions between the Iraqis and Kurds have also cooled.

But friction between the country’s various political parties, none of whom secured enough votes for a majority government, have raised concerns about renewed divisions along religious and ethnic lines.

The Canadian Forces have been conducting reconnaissance and other preparatory work to get ready for the launch of the next phase of their mission in Iraq, Vance said, with a specific focus on helping families return to Mosul.

The country’s second-largest city was held by ISIL for three years, until Iraqi forces – with help from Canada and other international partners – were able to liberate it from the extremist group following nearly a year of bloody fighting.

Hundreds of thousands of people fled the city ahead of its capture by ISIL and during its liberation, and Vance indicated Canadian troops will help Iraqi forces make it more secure so families can return.

“It needs to be secure and there’s still remnants of ISIL there,” he said.

“They’re not actively conducting operations, but they could. So, trying to ensure successful security conditions in Mosul so that people have the confidence to return home is also what we’re looking at.”

Vance also confirmed that Canada has officially ceased operations with the Kurds after years of working alongside the peshmerga in the north of the country, and that it intends to partner exclusively with the Iraqi military.

The military’s current mandate in Iraq is set to expire in March.

RCAF CP-140 Aurora Quietly Recalled from OP IMPACT

By: Murray Brewster, CBC News 

One of the Canadian air force spy planes assigned to the campaign against the Islamic State has been quietly withdrawn and brought home, CBC News has learned.

The CP-140 Aurora, with a suite of high-tech surveillance equipment, was one of two that had been flying missions over northern Iraq and Syria since the fall of 2014.

The decision to bring one of the turboprop aircraft home was not announced by the Liberal government, which recently extended the deployment of the Canadian military, including special forces trainers on the ground, until the end of June.

A single CP-140 and a refuelling tanker remain in Kuwait, where the Canadian Air Task Force has been based, to continue operations alongside the U.S.-led coalition.

But the decision could signal the beginning of the end of Canada's military involvement in the anti-ISIS fight.

A spokesperson for the military's operations command said the Aurora was withdrawn on May 15 and its departure has not impeded the coalition's air campaign.

"The [Canadian Armed Forces] shared its intent to return the aircraft to Canada with our coalition partners well in advance in order to ensure continuity in the coalition's intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations against Daesh," said Capt. Vincent Bouchard, referring to ISIS by its Arabic acronym.
Battle for Mosul

Iraqi security forces and Kurdish fighters are close to liberating the northern Iraqi city of Mosul and when the bloody campaign is completed, ISIS will largely have been driven from country.

In an email, Bouchard painted the decision to remove one of the CP-140s as a routine matter, meant "to effectively balance its expeditionary requirements and domestic commitments." He said the aircraft was needed to "deliver on its full range of missions domestically."

The primary mission of the CP-140s in Iraq was to act as spotters, targeting ISIS combat units and buildings for destruction.

In February 2016, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan told the House of Commons that Canada's CF-18 fighter jets had completed their bombing mission in Iraq and Syria. At that time, the Liberal government took pains to underline it was leaving the spy planes and tanker in place. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

When Canada's CF-18 fighter jets were withdrawn from the bombing campaign in February 2016, the Liberal government took pains to underline it was leaving the spy planes and tanker in place to support other coalition members as they continued combat operations.

As of May 20, the Auroras had flown 793 reconnaissance missions.
Special forces in northern Iraq

Canada still has more than 200 special forces troops advising Kurdish and Iraqi forces, as well as a tactical helicopter detachment, a number of intelligence officers and a Role 2 combat hospital deployed in Iraq.

The mission was reviewed in March, but only given a three-month mandate extension, to June 30.

Kurdish Peshmerga commanders have asked that highly trained special forces remain behind once Mosul is freed in order to help with training in counter-insurgency warfare.

Many experts and U.S. commanders have said expelling ISIS from Iraq will not entirely end the fighting and that extremists will likely resort to hit-and-run guerilla tactics.

The Liberal government has been unclear on whether it's prepared to facilitate that kind of training or participate in reconstruction efforts.
Beginning of the end?

The removal of the Aurora, which has been called out by allies for its usefulness, is a signal to defence analysts that the deployment could be coming to an end.

"If this is not the end of the mission, it seems a bit strange they would be pulling out one of these aircraft, which arguably has been one of the most important parts of our contribution," said Richard Cohen, who was an adviser to former defence minister Peter MacKay and served in both the Canadian and British militaries.

Given the deployment of troops to Latvia next month and the Liberal government's plan to return to peacekeeping, he said the military might not have the bodies to sustain an extended commitment in Iraq.

Four Canadian aircrew who fly one of the country's CP-140 surveillance planes leave the flight line at an unidentified coalition airbase in Kuwait on Nov. 13, 2016. (Murray Brewster/CBC)

The question of what Canada is going to do post-Mosul has been met with resounding silence, said Steve Saideman, a professor of international affairs at Carleton University.

The U.S.-led coalition has been organizing the next phase of the anti-ISIS campaign, with a finite number of positions, and Canada has yet to apparently signal interest.

"Canada has no role there," said Saideman. "And what that's going to lead to is dumb politics, shockingly enough."

By not articulating a clear way forward in the fight against ISIS, the Liberals have opened themselves up to criticism from Opposition Conservatives and possibly allies, he said.

The future of the Iraq mission could be made clear with the release of Canada's new long-awaited defence policy on June 7, but Saideman said it's unlikely to change the narrative.

"The fact is Canada may not be needed, and given the tempo of special forces operations, it might be time for them to come home and relax," he said. "But that's not going to be the conversation. The conservation is going to be about [how] Canada doesn't care about Iraq."

Dealing with terrorism, and specifically ISIS, is a top priority for the Trump administration. The U.S. leader recently scored a victory on that front, as NATO commanders moved to endorse a plan to formally join the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq and Syria.

Canadian Special Forces providing crucial support in Battle of Mosul

By: Steven Chase, Globe and Mail 

Canadian Armed Forces members are playing a modest but vital supporting role as the operation to retake Mosul, the last major stronghold of Islamic State militants in Iraq, gets under way.

How dangerous it might get for Canada’s special forces soldiers will depend on whether the Kurdish troops they’re advising are assigned a difficult role in reclaiming Mosul, which has been occupied by the Islamic State jihadis since June, 2014. It will also depend on whether their political masters in Ottawa allow Canadian soldiers to enter Mosul during what could be difficult block-by-block urban warfare.

Up to 210 Canadian special forces troops are advising Kurdish peshmerga fighters who are teaming up with Iraqi government forces, Sunni tribal fighters and Shia militias to encircle and take Mosul. The Trudeau government, which promised in the 2015 election campaign to end a combat role in Iraq, insists what soldiers are doing there is not combat even though Canadian special forces soldiers are guiding the Kurds from the front lines and exchanging fire with enemy troops from time to time.

Related:
Explainer: A guide to the battle of Mosul, and why it matters in the war against Islamic State
Interactive: Untangling the Middle East: A guide to the region's shifting relationships

Right now, Canadian military advisers are with Kurdish unit commanders near the battlefront or in peshmerga encampments around Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan which is 85 kilometres from Mosul, or farther south in Kirkuk, 175 kilometres from the IS stronghold.

Canadian generals last week warned the public that the environment in Iraq has grown more dangerous for Canada’s soldiers as their task now focuses on advising the Kurds in battle rather than merely training them in open-air classrooms far back from the conflict.

Overhead, two Canadian spy planes, the CP-140 Auroras, are gathering intelligence that will be used by coalition planners to generate lists of Islamic State targets to be bombed. As well, the Royal Canadian Air Force’s Polaris tanker is refuelling coalition warplanes conducting the bombing raids.

Not far from the front line – but not so close as to be in harm’s way – up to 60 Canadians will be operating a field hospital to treat the wounded Kurds, Iraqi government forces or their allies. The Role 2 facility will not be big but will triage, resuscitate, treat and care for injured soldiers until they return to duty or are evacuated.

Ottawa is tight-lipped on the role that Canada’s 21st Electronic Warfare Regiment is playing in Iraq. The military has reportedly deployed members of this regiment, which can intercept and decipher enemy communications.

Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan was tight-lipped Monday when asked exactly where Canada’s soldiers are located on the battlefield, citing operational security.

“For force protection, I won’t tell you exactly where they will be, but they will be always in an advise-and-assist mission. They will always be within [or] behind the front lines to conduct their work and … they will always have the right tools and abilities to be able to protect themselves if needed.”

The fight to retake Mosul is being billed as the largest military effort in Iraq since the United States withdrew its combat forces in 2011.

David Perry, a senior analyst with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, said Canadians are also helping to assemble targeting “packages” for air commanders who are selecting bombing targets.

He said it’s possible the fight to retake Mosul could end up going relatively slowly because the coalition will be trying to avoid killing civilians inside the city. Mr. Perry said estimates of civilians inside Mosul are as high as one million people.

A U.S.-led air campaign has helped push Islamic State from much of the territory it held, but 4,000 to 8,000 fighters are thought to remain in Mosul.

ISIL’s defeat in Mosul is now inevitable, Canadian generals say

By: Matthew Fisher, National Post 

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi went on state television early Monday to announce that the crucial battle to end Islamic State’s ruinous reign of terror in Mosul and western Iraq had finally begun.

“Today I declare the start of these victorious operations to free you from the violence and terrorism of Daesh,” al-Abadi said, using the Arabic acronym for ISIL.

Before the prime minister told Iraqis that “God willing, we will win,” two Canadian generals who are privy to the battle plans said they were convinced the end of the hardline jihadists in Iraq was inevitable and fast approaching.

The long anticipated assault on Iraq’s second largest city, where 2.2-million people lived when ISIL seized it two years ago, was likely to be bloody and could take some time, Brig.-General Greg Smith and Brig.-Gen Dave Anderson, who both served multiple tours in Afghanistan, said during interviews from Baghdad.

“Let there be no doubt, Mosul is a very big city and they have been working on its defences,” said Smith, who is the chief of staff of the U.S.-led Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command. “We are agreed that it is going to be a very tough, complex fight.”

“It really depends on the enemy,” said Anderson, who heads the coalition’s strategic advisory team, which works closely with Iraq’s security ministries. “One way to look at it is that there is a hard outer crust. It depends how soft and squishy the middle is. Getting through the crust will be hard. Once inside the crust we will see whether they stand and fight to the last man or run away as they did in Ramadi and Fallujah.

“I think that they are on their back foot, I really do. The pressure has been relentless and it has been like that for six to eight months. Some of them have picked up sticks and been seen in Syria. The reports we are getting is that the morale in Mosul is quite fragile. We will see how it works. The war has a pace and rhythm all of its own. The enemy always gets a vote.”

ISIL revels in celebrating many diabolical acts including the sexual enslavement of women its captures. It has produced a seemingly endless stream of ghastly videos which depict prisoners being drowned, beheaded, thrown from buildings and set fire to in cages.

For Anderson one of the many reasons ISIL had to be eliminated was its “appalling” treatment of children as suicide bombers and its “craven willingness to hide among the civilian population inside the city or when they try to flee…

Related
'The liberation of Mosul is beginning': Iraqi troops gather for battle over ISIL stronghold
Who will control Mosul after ISIL? Groups fighting extremists are bitter rivals with competing interests
The Pentagon is confronting a new threat from ISIL in Iraq: exploding drones

“There are bad cats in Mosul and we have every confidence that the Iraqi security forces will be there to deal with them.”

It was just over two years ago that the Iraqi army fled Mosul rather than defend it, as ISIL swept in from the west. Smith and Anderson, who were sent to Iraq earlier this year along with about 30 other Canadians to assist the Iraqi army with its training and development, lauded the ISF’s leadership for turning that pathetic situation around and for its methodical approach to regaining territory from ISIL along the Euphrates and Tigris River valleys.

The Iraqi forces were “completely different” today than they were two years ago, Anderson said. Their confidence had been “born of success” over “the last 14 or 15 months and certainly the last three months.”

“If they had morale problems in 2014 as Daesh pushed them out, they are working hard to push them back,” Smith said, referring to ISIL by its Arabic acronym. “They are very motivated. They are the ones driving the timeline.

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP / Getty ImagesIraqi forces gesture as they gather at the Qayyarah military base, about 60 kilometres south of Mosul, on Sunday.

“When I got here Daesh was just outside the gates of Baghdad. It was still counter-attacking and had some ability to manoeuvre. It is not the same Daesh any more. They are constantly getting defeated by the ISF. It was impressive to see their determination and aggression in taking down Fallujah. It is not a small place. They fought hard.”

The ISF counter-offensive has reached as far west on the Euphretes as Haditha, which is about 100 kilometres from the Syrian border. Further north, in the Tigris Valley, they have forced ISIL out of Ramadi and Fallujah and are now within 40 kilometres of the southern and east outskirts of Mosul while the Kurdish Peshmerga, who have Canadian military advisers, are about 15 kilometres to the north of the city.

“There is still a ways to go to the Syrian border but it was gone exceptionally well,” Smith said. “They are effectively in the process of isolating ISIL (around Mosul) now. Daesh remains a formidable foe but they are transitioning more into a terrorist force which means they are losing. It is pretty much all going against them.”

To wear down ISIL before what could be a ferocious street-by-street fight for Mosul, allied warplanes have accelerated their bombing campaign using “critical” targeting information provided by RCAF spy planes and a Canadian intelligence cell based in Kuwait, the generals said. There have also been constant artillery barrages on ISIL forces by US Marines and French gunners.

After Mosul falls, Anderson, who is to remain in Baghdad until next summer, will help advise the Iraqis about how to consolidate their territorial gains while continuing to move against ISIL-held pockets in towns and rural areas in the west of the country.

“The upcoming battle is taking a lot of the bandwidth of everyone, but all the right indications and all the right discussions are there to ensure that we – that is, the Iraqi security forces – can not only take Mosul but hold it afterwards,” Anderson said.

As for life today in ISIL’s so-called Iraqi capital, “by all accounts it is horrific,” Anderson said. “There is a complete absence of personal freedom. In many cases people are being pressganged in order to man the lines. One of the reasons that the ISF is unified is that Daesh is evil and really needs to be destroyed and those people liberated from its influence.”

CTV Exclusive: Canadian-trained forces clearing the way to retake Mosul from ISIS

Josh Dehaas, CTVNews.ca Writer
Published Monday, August 15, 2016 10:00PM EDT 

Exclusive: Canadian-trained forces clearing the way to retake Mosul from ISIS

CTV News has learned that Canadian-backed Kurdish forces have spent the past 48 hours clearing the way to take back Mosul, the last major stronghold of ISIS and its de facto capital in Iraq.

The Peshmerga spent Sunday and Monday reclaiming a dozen villages near Iraq’s second-biggest city, sources told CTV’s Mercedes Stephenson.

The Canadian Special Forces helped the Kurdish troops plan the operation and remained close enough to the combat that they could see the fighting and provide real-time advice -- but they were not on the frontline.

RELATED STORIES
Iraqi Kurds advance near ISIS-held city
U.S., allies announce 'key moment' in fight against ISIS

No Canadian soldiers were injured.

David Fraser, a former NATO commander in Afghanistan, called Mosul “the most important objective” for the U.S.-led coalition.

ISIS fighters took the city in June 2014, despite being vastly outnumbered by Iraqi soldiers.

Fraser said taking Mosul back will “demonstrate to the world that (ISIS) is losing ground.”

In fact, more than 40 per cent of the territory seized by ISIS has already been taken back since coalition airstrikes began on Aug. 8, 2014.

Canada was contributing to those airstrikes until February, when the Liberals pulled Canada’s CF-18 fighter jets, while at the same time tripling the number of Special Forces trainers on the ground.

At the time, Interim Conservative Party leader Rona Ambrose called the withdrawal from combat a “shameful step backward.”

More than 3.2 million Iraqis have been displaced from their homes due to the ISIS, according to information gathered by the International Organization for Migration.

US Official: Canadian Special Forces key players in Iraq Offensive

By: David Pugliese, Defence Watch 

U.S. military officers say that Canadian special forces are on the frontlines of a new offensive in Iraq to retake villages from the Islamic State east of Mosul.

The coalition troops were spotted with Kurdish forces as they prepared for battle on Sunday.

As many as 5,500 Kurdish troops are attempting to seize villages located about 20 km east of Mosul. Heavy fighting was reported Sunday.

Soldiers with the Canadian Special Operations Regiment from CFB Petawawa in the Ottawa Valley are in northern Iraq to train and advise the Kurds.

A Reuters news agency correspondent saw coalition soldiers loading armored vehicles outside the village Hassan Shami, a few kilometres east of the frontline of the ongoing offensive. The soldiers spoke English and some had Maple Leaf insignia on their uniforms.

U.S. Army Colonel Steve Warren, who speaks for the coalition, confirmed that “U.S. and coalition forces are conducting advise and assist operations to help Kurdish Peshmerga forces”.

He could not confirm which country the troops seen by Reuters were from.

“They may be Americans, they may be Canadians or from other nationalities,” he said.

A Canadian Forces spokeswoman said Sunday that Canadian troops do not conduct “offensive operations” but are continuing in “training, advising and assisting” security forces in Iraq. The location of such activities is not made public for security reasons, she added.

The Kurdistan Region Security Council issued a statement noting that the attacks on Sunday are designed to set the stage for the eventual retaking of Mosul from the Islamic State. “This is one of the many shaping operations expected to increase pressure on ISIL [Islamic State] in and around Mosul in preparation of an eventual assault on the city,” the council said in a statement.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said the train, advise and assist mission of Canadian special forces, including their role in directing air strikes, is not a combat mission.

Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jon Vance has also backed up this position. Vance has noted that Canadian special forces might be attacked by Islamic State forces, return fire, and be injured in fighting, but that he didn’t consider that to be a combat mission. “I’m the expert on what is combat and what is not,” Vance said earlier this year.

When in opposition the Liberals accused the Conservative government of running a combat mission with the deployment of 69 Canadian special forces in an advise and assist role in northern Iraq. The Liberal government has since taken on the same mission but have increased the number of troops to 200.

But now – under a Liberal government – this same mission is not considered combat, government officials have pointed out.

It also appears that Canadian special forces have reversed Vance’s decision to set aside some aspects of operational security for publicity reasons.

In late April, Vance took a tour of the front lines in northern Iraq with journalists in tow. He allowed Canadian special forces to be interviewed and have their faces photographed.

That was a reversal of the previous security measures which saw a prohibition of photos showing the faces of any Canadian military personnel taking part in the Iraq mission. Previously, official photos from the mission were issued only after the faces of mechanics, pilots and other military personnel were blurred out.

The Canadian Forces has argued that such strict security was needed to protect military personnel and their families in Canada from the threat of retaliation from the Islamic State.

But military sources say Vance wanted to help the Liberal government promote the mission and past operational security practices were set aside.

But on Sunday, the special forces on the front lines asked journalists not to take any photos of them.

When Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s office inadvertently released a video showing the faces – albeit from a distance – of Canadian special forces the Liberals rose in the House of Commons and accused the Conservatives of putting Canadian lives at risk.

Harper’s office later issued an apology and removed the video imagery which was shot while the prime minister was visiting Canadian special forces in northern Iraq.

Still No Additional CAF Deployment to Iraq; As US Deploys 217 Special Forces and Apache Helicopters

Written by: Daniel Maillet, CAF Dispatch 
April 19, 2016, 8:00AM

Back on April 4, 2016, a report published by David Pugliese of The Ottawa Citizen noted that the additional 200 CAF members the Liberals announced in February to be deployed to OP IMPACT to fight ISIS in Northern Iraq had yet to be deployed. That is still the case as of today. Canada needs to quicken it's response times.

Within two weeks of the announcement of the withdraw of CF-18 Fighter jets, the RCAF had ended airstrikes against ISIS; and had sent 4 of the 6 CF-18's to Romania on bilateral training. Yet nearly three months after the announcement of 200 trainers to Norther Iraq to advise and assist Peshmerga forces, there has been no major movement. Canada's 69 Special Forces members are still alone; despite the announced deployment of Griffon Helicopters to help them move around the region.

Yet, today the United States announced it will immediately deploy 217 additional US Army Troops to Northern Iraq as well as send Apache helicopters to the region for the first time to continue its fight against ISIS, according to a US Defense official who spoke with The National Post.

Apache Helicopter Land at Camp Bastion Airfield, Afghanistan Photo: MOD 45153345

The US's announcement and deployment is intended to further help Iraqi and Kurdish forces retake Mosul and Raqqa from the hands of ISIS. It is expected that the majority, if not all the 217 will be special forces members. The additional troops will bring the US troop level in Iraq to around 4,087.

Canada does not lack the lift capacity to put our 200 additional forces on the ground, it would seem the country is just dragging it's feet on the additional deployment.

Canada in Iraq: RCAF Targets Three ISIS near Fallujah and Mosul

In a press release on its OP IMPACT webpage, DND announced that on 4 February 2016, while taking part in coalition operations in support of Iraqi security forces, two CF-18 Hornets successfully struck an ISIS fighting position west of Fallujah using precision guided munitions.

Also On 4 February 2016, while taking part in coalition operations in support of Iraqi security forces, two CF-18 Hornets successfully struck two ISIS fighting positions southeast of Mosul using precision guided munitions.

No further details were announced. 

Canada in Iraq: RCAF Target 3 ISIS Positions near Mosul

The RCAF kicked off February with a busy day - targeting three separate ISIS positions. In a press release on its OP IMPACT webpage, DND announced that on 3 February 2016, while taking part in coalition operations in support of Iraqi security forces, two CF-18 Hornets successfully struck an ISIS fighting position, an ISIS ammunition cache, and an ISIS vehicle in three separate airstrikes conducted south of Mosul using precision guided munitions. 

No further details we announced. 

Canada in Iraq: RCAF Target ISIS East of Mosul

In a statement on it's OP IMPACT webpage, DND announced that on, 15 January 2016, while taking part in coalition operations in support of Iraqi security forces, two CF-18 Hornets successfully struck an ISIS fighting position east of Mosul using precision guided munitions.

Den Tandt: Predicts CF-18s will Remain in Iraq

One of Michael Den Tandt's predictions for 2016 is that the Liberal Government will go back on at least one election promise, and it has to do with its decision to withdraw the CF-18s from Iraq.

In his 2016 Prediction opinion piece in the Ottawa Citizen, Den Tandt, says, "Trudeau and his cabinet will reverse course on a couple of major policy files early in 2016. The first will be their pledge to withdraw Canadian CF-18 fighters from the battle against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant."

That could possibly happen, seeing has the US-led coalition has made big impacts over the past few weeks, helping Iraqi forces retake Ramadi, and planning on helping more in Mosul in the coming weeks.

The RCAF has conducted  17 airstrikes since December 23rd,  2015; mainly in the vicinity of Mosul, as well as Sinjar, Kisik, and Ramadi.

Canada in Iraq: RCAF Targets 4 ISIS Positions in Single Day

Released on it's OP IMPACT webpage, the RCAF conducted the following airstrikes on January 2, 2016:

On 2 January 2016, while taking part in coalition operations in support of Iraqi security forces, two CF-18 Hornets successfully struck two ISIS fighting positions south west of Sinjar, using precision guided munitions.

On 2 January 2016, while taking part in coalition operations in support of Iraqi security forces, two CF-18 Hornets successfully struck an ISIS compound near Bartallah, (east of Mosul), using precision guided munitions.

On 2 January 2016, while taking part in coalition operations in support of Iraqi security forces, two CF-18 Hornets successfully struck an ISIS compound near Kudilah, (southeast of Mosul), using precision guided munitions.

Cadets from the USAF Academy tour an RCAF CF-18 at Camp VINCENT , Kuwait. Photo: CAF Combat Camera - June 2015

Canada in.Iraq: RCAF targets 7 ISIS Positions & 2015 OP IMPACT numbers

The RCAF was active over New Years in Iraq. According to its OP IMPACT webpage, the RCAF targeted 7 ISIS fighting positions leading up to New Years and on New Years Day.

On 30 December 2015, while taking part in coalition operations in support of Iraqi security forces, two CF18 Hornets successfully struck an ISIS fighting position south east of Sinjar, Iraq, using precision guided munitions.

On 31 Dec 2015, while taking part in coalition operations in support of Iraqi security forces, two CF-18 Hornets successfully struck an ISIS fighting position north-west of Mosul, using precision guided munitions. Also on December 31, while taking part in coalition operations in support of Iraqi security forces, two CF-18 Hornets successfully struck an ISIS fighting position near Kisik, using precision guided munitions.

On 1 January 2016, while taking part in coalition operations in support of Iraqi security operations to clear ISIS from Ramadi, two CF-18 Hornets successfully struck four ISIS fighting positions with precision guided munitions.

As of 31 December 2015, Air Task Force-Iraq conducted 1955 sorties:
CF-188 Hornet fighters conducted 1249 sorties;
CC-150T Polaris aerial refueller conducted 337 sorties, delivering some 19,724,000 pounds of fuel to coalition aircraft; and
CP-140 Aurora aircraft conducted 368 reconnaissance missions.

Canada in Iraq: 6 RCAF Airstrikes over Christmas Holidays

After a brief hiatus over the holidays, I should be posting more regular CAF News moving forward into the new year.

In brief press releases on its OP IMPACT webpage, DND announced that on the 23rd of December 2015, while taking part in coalition airstrikes in support of Iraqi security forces’ offensive operations to clear ISIS from Ramadi, two CF-18 Hornets successfully struck an ISIS vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in the vicinity of Ramadi using precision guided munitions. The RCAF and coalition attacks helped Iraqi forces retake Ramadi nearly a year after it fell to ISIS.

Then on the 24th of December 2015, while taking part in coalition operations in support of Iraqi security forces, two CF-18 Hornets successfully struck an ISIS fighting position east of Mosul using precision guided munitions. Also on the 24th, two CF-18 Hornets successfully struck two ISIS fighting positions west of Tal Afar using precision guided munitions.

A U.S. military official in Iraq says that coalition airstrikes killed 10 Islamic State leaders over the past month, including several linked to the Paris attacks or other plots against the West.

U.S. Army Col. Steve Warren says they were killed mainly by drone strikes in Iraq and Syria. He offered few details, but said at least two of those killed were linked to the Paris attacks. He says one was directly tied to those who planned the violence in Paris and was actively planning other assaults against the West. Most appeared to be mid-level leaders.

Warren says that one of the others killed was from Bangladesh but spent time in Britain and was a hacker for the Islamic State group and co-ordinated anti-surveillance technology.

On Christmas day, December 25, while taking part in coalition operations in support of Iraqi security forces, two CF-18 Hornets successfully struck an ISIS fighting position west of Makhmur using precision guided munitions.

The most recent involvement by the RCAF was on December 27,  2015, while taking part in coalition operations in support of Iraqi security forces, two CF-18 Hornets successfully struck an ISIS fighting positions south east of Sinjar using precision guided munitions.

Canada in Iraq: RCAF Hits 3 ISIS Fighting Positions

In a press release on its OP IMPACT webpage, DND announced that on 18 December 2015, while taking part in coalition operations in support of Iraqi security forces, two CF-18 Hornets successfully struck three ISIS fighting positions northwest of Mosul, Iraq, using precision guided munitions

Canada in Iraq: RCAF Strike ISIS Near Mosul in Support of Special Forces

In a press release on it's OP IMPACT webpage, DND announced that on 17 December 2015, while taking part in coalition operations in support of Iraqi security forces, two CF-18 Hornets successfully struck an ISIS fighting position northwest of Mosul using precision guided munitions.

The CF-18's were on patrol the region, when a large ISIS offensive pushed at the Kurdish Front lines. Canadian Special Forces were within 6 kilometers of the front lines, and some members were close enough to return fire on the ISIS militants. Canadian's called for air support, as hundreds of ISIS fighters attacked northwest of Mosul. 

There were no Canadian casualties in the 17 hour battle. The Kurdish forces suffered more than 70 casualties.

A RCAF CF-18  at its base in Kuwait. Its technician is setting the wheel chokes after the CF-18 returned from flight over Iraq, as part of OP IMPACT.  Photo: CAF Combat Camera 

Canada in Iraq: RCAF Strike ISIS Fighting Position Near Mosul

In a press release on its OP IMPACT webpage, DND announced that on 13 December 2015, while taking part in coalition operations in support of Iraqi security forces, two CF-18 Hornets successfully struck an ISIS fighting position northwest of Mosul using precision guided munitions.

Canada in Iraq: RCAF Strikes ISIS N.East of Mosul

In press release on its OP IMPACT webpage, the RCAF announced that on 4 December 2015, while taking part in coalition operations in support of Iraqi security forces, two CF-18 Hornets successfully struck an ISIS fighting position northeast of Mosul using precision guided munitions.

This is the third strike by the RCAF in December. The US led-coalition has been increasing in the number of participants, and active airstrikes since the Paris Attack. The Official Opposition in Canada will push to keep the CF-18s involved in the air campaign.



However, with the Liberal Majority, the likely hood is that Canada's 6 CF-18s will be withdrawn before the March 2016 end date of the current mandate. It is speculated that the Polaris and Aurora aircraft will remain active parts of the air campaign; providing intelligence and areal refueling capabilities.

Canada in Iraq: RCAF Strike ISIS Near Mosul

In a statement on its OP IMPACT page, the RCAF announced that on 3 December 2015, while taking part in coalition operations in support of Iraqi security forces, two CF-18 Hornets successfully struck an ISIS fighting position northwest of Mosul using precision guided munitions. 

No further details were released. 

Canada and Iraq: RCAF strikes ISIS Weapons Facility in Mosul

The coalition airstrikes continue against ISIS. The coalition has stepped up the consistency of airstrikes against numerous ISIS positions in Iraq and Syria following the attacks in Paris one week ago.

Late yesterday DND released the following information regarding Canada's latest contribution to the fight.

On 19 November 2015, while taking part in coalition airstrikes to increase Iraqi security forces' freedom of movement in the region, two CF-18 Hornets successfully struck an ISIS weapons production facility in the vicinity of Mosul using precision guided munitions.