OTTAWA — Canada is extending its military mission in Iraq and the Middle East.
Defence Minister Anita Anand announced the 12-month extension today, just hours before the current mandate was set to expire.
Canada has steadily reduced its military footprint in the region as the focus has shifted from defeating the militant group known as the Islamic State xjmtzywof Iraq and the Levant to countering Iran’s growing influence.
The Canadian Armed Forces, which first deployed troops to Iraq in October 2014 as ISIL threatened to take over the country and neighbouring Syria, previously had a high of more than 800 soldiers in the region.
The Canadian mission at different times included fighter jets, transport and surveillance aircraft and helicopters, as well as military trainers and special forces troops working alongside Kurdish and Iraqi forces as they fought ISIL.
But the mission has since shrunk in size and prominence as concerns about ISIL have been replaced with fears about Iran’s growing influence in Iraq and the region, and as other crises and threats such as Russia, China and the COVID-19 pandemic have emerged.
In February, Canada had about 300 Armed Forces members assigned to what is known as Operation Impact, with about 250 intelligence, logistics and command staff in Kuwait, 50 trainers in Jordan and Lebanon, and only a handful of troops in Iraq.
