Main article: Operation Impact
The Canadian contribution has been codenamed Operation Impact by the Canadian Department of National Defence.[309][310] Canadian aircraft left for the Middle East to join in airstrikes on 21 October. In total, six CF-18 fighter jets, an Airbus CC-150 Polaris air-to-air refueling tanker and two CP-140 Aurora surveillance aircraft were sent, along with 700 military personnel.
Canadian CF-18 fighter jets completed their first operational flights departing from Kuwait on 31 October.[311] The first Canadian airstrikes began on 2 November.[312] Canada also flew an extra CF-18 to Kuwait to be used as a spare if the need arises, however a maximum of six are authorized to fly with the coalition missions.[313]
On 4 November 2014, Canadian Air Force CF-18s successfully destroyed ISIL construction equipment using GBU-12 bombs. The construction equipment was being used to divert the Euphrates River to deny villages water, and to flood roads, diverting traffic to areas with IEDs.[314]
On 12 November 2014, Canadian jets destroyed ISIL artillery just outside the Northern Iraqi town of Baiji.[315] Airstrikes continued throughout December and into January 2015 totaling 28 strike missions.[316] It was then reported that Canadian special forces troops, which had been highlighting targets for airstrikes, had engaged in fighting after coming under attack.[316][317]
On 19 January 2015, Canadian special operations forces came under ISIL attack for the first time in Iraq over the last week, and returned sniper fire to “neutralize” the threat. Canadians are “enabling airstrikes from the ground,” meaning they are actively finding targets for jets flying overhead.[318]
On 29 January 2015, Canadian special forces in Iraq came under fire from ISIL forces, causing the Canadian troops to return fire, killing some ISIL militants.[319] On 6 March, a Canadian soldier was killed in a friendly fire incident by Kurdish forces while returning to an observation post.[192]
On 8 April 2015, two CF-18s carried out their first airstrike against ISIL in Syria, hitting one of the groups garrisons.[320]
From 2 Nov 2014 to 13 May 2015 the Canadian armed forces struck 80 ISIS fighting positions, 19 ISIS Vehicles, and 10 storage facilities.
Military intervention against ISIL - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia