Canadian defence minister visits iraq map
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Sajjan said conversations are taking place trying to anticipate what ISIL will do next.
But the issue of the Trudeau government’s plan to withdraw Canada’s warplanes hasn’t come up in conversations with either Iraqi officials in Baghdad or the Kurds, said Sajjan.
“The irony is, I haven’t had one discussion about the CF-18s or discussing our contribution from the humanitarian side of things,” he said in a conference call with reporters from Irbil.
Instead, Sajjan says, they’ve talked how Canada can refocus its military commitment with a beefed-up training mission, and he’s given some suggestions on contributions the country can make, including ideas he hadn’t previously considered.
“Getting a better understanding of what is happening on the ground allows us to think about what we can bring to the table,” said Sajjan, who later in the call referenced medical training and battlefield casualty clearing as a specialty that was in need.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has pledged Canada will “do more than its part” in the military effort against ISIL, which implies a bigger contribution.
To report severe weather, send an email to [email protected] or post reports on X using #ONStorm. Road closures are possible. It also happens to be the place where ISIL claims to have planted the bomb that brought down a Russian airliner.
The international community needs to get sharper at analyzing and predicting where ISIL is likely to rear its head, he said.
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Kurdish media are reporting that Harjit Sajjan spent Sunday in the town of Irbil in a visit that was not announced by the Canadian government in advance.
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The Kurdish media outlet Rudaw didn’t report specifically why Sajjan was in Iraq but images show him meeting with Kurdish officials in Irbil.
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On Thursday, Canadian special forces personnel who are in Iraq in a non-combat training role laid down supporting fire to help repulse the ISIL offensive.
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Canadian CF-18 fighter jets also pounded an ISIL position near Mosul.
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The Trudeau government has announced it intends to withdraw the CF-18s from Iraq sometime in the new year and bolster the training mission.
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Canada’s Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan arrived in Erbil on Sunday, Kurdish news outlets reported.
The visit comes days after Canadian trainers assisted Kurdish Peshmerga forces during an new offensive by the Islamic State. Please continue to monitor alerts and forecasts issued by Environment Canada.
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Snowfall rates of 5 cm per hour. Additional information: Snow squalls have moved into the region and for some areas the squalls may remain through Thursday. Snow squalls tonight. The Kurds, supported by coalition aircraft, were able to beat back the attacks. What: Near zero visibility in snow and blowing snow at times. For more information about the alerting program, please visit: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/weather/severeweather/weather-alerts/colour-coded-alerts.
Number is not a good metric to judge in terms of capability brought to the fight.”
The former Harper government committed Canada to a combat mission, via parliamentary mandate, until the end of March, but Sajjan suggested the Liberals would not be bound by that - meaning the airstrikes could end sooner or carry on longer, depending on discussions with the U.S.-led coalition.
“The decision to end airstrikes is not based on that deadline.
The visit comes days after Canadian trainers assisted Kurdish Peshmerga forces during an new offensive by the Islamic State.
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By The Canadian Press
OTTAWA - Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan toured the front lines in the war against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant on Monday, playing down the significance of last week’s major offensive and managing expectations on what Canada’s rebooted training mission will look like.
He met with Kurdish military commanders and Canadian special forces who helped repel last week’s major offensive west of Irbil.
The front line was ruptured in perhaps as many as five places as Islamic State units unleashed a torrent of artillery and massive, armoured suicide bomber trucks, which the Americans call Frankentrucks.
The assault was rolled back the next day with the help of air power - including Canada’s CF-18s - and U.S.
coalition commanders estimate as many as 200 extremists were killed in the failed attempt to break the stalemate, which has gripped the line in northern Iraq since the summer of 2014.
Sajjan said the extremist offensive was not unexpected and the coalition is anticipating more.
“Our troops on the ground have worked very closely with the peshmerga to be able to prepare for eventualities like this, and their preparation and training paid off,” he said.
Some commentators in the international media have suggested the attack, involving hundreds of Islamic State fighters, signals a shift in strategy by the terror organization.
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Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan arrives in northern Iraq
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Canada’s Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan arrived in Erbil on Sunday, Kurdish news outlets reported.
Snowfall amounts of 5 to 10 cm. Sajjan tried to manage those expectations Monday, saying it was the type of equipment and expertise that was important.
“I just want to caution everybody. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our politics newsletter, First Reading, here.
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