Ottawa "didn't put limits" on the Canadian special forces' advise and assist mission in Iraq, Defence Minister Rob Nicholson said amid questions about when special operations soldiers began identifying airstrike targets from the ground.
Officials have said about 69 Canadian Forces special operations troops arrived in Iraq last September, to engage in an advise and assist role with Iraqi forces fighting ISIS militants there.
At an event in St. Catharines, Ont., on Thursday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Canadian troops were assisting Kurdish forces in particular.
“We're there to make those guys effective so they can take on the Islamic State and deal with them,” Harper said.
“And if those guys fire at us, we're going to fire back and we're going to kill them, just like our guys did. And we're very proud of what they're doing in Iraq."
In October, Parliament approved a six-month air deployment as part of a coalition airstrikes mission against ISIS in Iraq.
Earlier this week, Brig.-Gen. Michael Rouleau, Commander of Canadian Special Forces, revealed for the first time that special ops are not only “enabling airstrikes from the ground” by actively identifying targets for coalition jets, but that they had returned fire after they came under attack from militants earlier this month.
On Thursday morning, Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Tom Lawson issued a statement to clarify comments he made last October, when he told CTV’s Question period that Canadian special ops would not be guiding airstrikes from the ground.
“To be clear, the situation on the ground has evolved… and we have increased our assistance with respect to targeting airstrikes in direct correlation with an increased threat encountered by the (Iraqi Security Forces),” Lawson said in a statement to CTV News.
Canadian special ops “are not seeking to directly engage the enemy, but we are providing assistance to forces that are in combat,” he went on.
The incidents, as described by Rouleau this week, “are entirely consistent with the advise and assist mandate given to the Canadian Armed Forces by the government.”
In a teleconference with reporters Thursday, Nicholson said, “we haven’t done anything that we shouldn’t be doing,” adding that Canadian soldiers should be expected to return fire when they are shot at.
Asked why Canadian soldiers are identifying airstrike targets, Nicholson said that is part of the advisory role to help train Iraqis, while reducing the risk of civilian casualties and helping the airstrike efforts be “more effective.”
Asked whether special ops have been guiding airstrikes since they were first deployed in September, Nicholson replied: “We didn’t put limits on their ability to advise and assist the Iraqis, and so the special forces were there to provide advice and assistance, and that is exactly what they have done.”
Anti-ISIS coalition meets
Nicholson’s comments came as he took part in meetings in London with representatives from nearly two-dozen nations involved in the anti-ISIS coalition missions in Iraq and Syria.
Those have focused on a number of issues, he said, including the airstrike mission, cutting off ISIS funding and financing, humanitarian assistance, and strategic communication on terror threats.
“All representatives affirmed our ongoing interest in putting a stop to this scourge,” Nicholson told reporters during a teleconference.
He said Canada “remains committed to playing our part” in the fight against ISIS both at home and abroad.
However, in an interview with CTV News Channel he said Canada was not asked during the meetings to extend its six-month commitment to the airstrike mission.
“The discussion was among how we can all co-operate and continue to work together,” Nicholson said.
