OTTAWA — Canada will lead a NATO training mission in Iraq until November 2020 after the federal government approved an extension to the operation.

News of the extension comes as Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and his counterparts from other NATO countries are in Brussels to discuss the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Canada has 850 military personnel in Iraq and the surrounding region involved in that effort against ISIL, including 250 who are training the Iraqi military as part of the NATO mission.

The extremist group remains a threat despite having lost of all its territory in Iraq and Syria, where it continues to conduct suicide bombings and other insurgent attacks.

Canada has been leading the NATO training mission since last July and was set to hand over the reins to another country at the end of this month, but will now lead until November 2020.

Brig.-Gen. Jennie Carignan, who upon promotion to major-general in the coming days will become Canada's highest-ranked female army officer, will assume command of the NATO mission from Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin.

"Our message is clear: Canada is ready to lead and stand with our allies," Sajjan said in a statement.

"We know that combating threats to global stability reinforces security and prosperity at home and this is why we are happy to work with NATO and continue our command role of NATO mission Iraq."

The extension is only the latest involving the Canadian military in Iraq. The federal government previously promised to keep the other 600 troops in the region until March 2021.

Among them are special-forces soldiers and medical personnel in Iraq, trainers in Jordan and Lebanon, and crews with transport planes in Kuwait. </s> Canada will continue to command a NATO mission in Iraq for a second year until November 2020, Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan announced Wednesday.

Brigadier-General Jennie Carignan, who will soon be promoted to the rank of major-general, is to take over the command this fall of some 580 NATO troops including 250 from Canada, and others from non-NATO partners such as Australia, Sweden, and Finland.

She has previously deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Golan Heights, and Afghanistan.

The non-combat, advisory, and training mission look to bolster Iraq’s military and security capabilities, including in areas of medical aid, armored vehicle maintenance, countering improvised explosive devices and civil-military planning.

NATO’s advisory activities are centered in Baghdad, while training is carried out at Iraqi military schools in the Baghdad area, Taji and Besmaya.

The hope, outgoing commander Canadian Major General Dany Fortin said this month, is to make Iraq’s military self-sustainable to try to avoid a repeat of 2014 when ISIS seized large areas of Iraq and Syria.

Last Update: Wednesday, 26 June 2019 KSA 19:43 - GMT 16:43 </s> Canada will lead the training mission of NATO in Iraq until November 2020 after the Federal government approved the extension of the operation.

News of the extension came against the backdrop of the fact that the Minister of defence harjit Sajjan and his colleagues from other NATO countries in Brussels to discuss fight against Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant.

In Iraq and surrounding regions placed 850 canadian troops involved in combat operations against ISIS, including 250 military experts who trained the Iraqi military in the framework of the NATO mission.

The extremist group remains a threat, despite the fact that she had lost all of its captured territory in Iraq and Syria, where its suicide bombers continue to make explosions, and do not stop insurgent attacks.

Canada heads the training mission of NATO since July last year and had to hand over the reins to another country at the end of this month, but will now lead up to November 2020.

The extension of the operation – this is another initiative with the canadian military in Iraq after the Federal government promised to maintain the presence of a contingent of 600 troops in the war-torn country until March 2021. </s> Canada has 850 military personnel in Iraq and the surrounding region involved in that effort against ISIL

Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan fields questions at the opening news conference of the Halifax International Security Forum in Halifax on Friday, Nov. 16, 2018. The Canadian Press/Andrew Vaughan

Canada will lead a NATO training mission in Iraq until November 2020 after the federal government approved an extension to the operation.

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News of the extension comes as Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and his counterparts from other NATO countries are in Brussels to discuss the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Canada has 850 military personnel in Iraq and the surrounding region involved in that effort against ISIL, including 250 who are training the Iraqi military as part of the NATO mission.

The extremist group remains a threat despite having lost of all its territory in Iraq and Syria, where it continues to conduct suicide bombings and other insurgent attacks.

Canada has been leading the NATO training mission since last July and was set to hand over the reins to another country at the end of this month, but will now lead until November 2020.

The extension is only the latest involving the Canadian military in Iraq after the federal government promised to keep the other 600 troops in the war-ravaged country until March 2021.

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. </s> OTTAWA -- Canada will lead a NATO training mission in Iraq until November 2020 after the federal government approved an extension to the operation.

News of the extension comes as Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and his counterparts from other NATO countries are in Brussels to discuss the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Canada has 850 military personnel in Iraq and the surrounding region involved in that effort against ISIL, including 250 who are training the Iraqi military as part of the NATO mission.

The extremist group remains a threat despite having lost of all its territory in Iraq and Syria, where it continues to conduct suicide bombings and other insurgent attacks.

Canada has been leading the NATO training mission since last July and was set to hand over the reins to another country at the end of this month, but will now lead until November 2020.

The extension is only the latest involving the Canadian military in Iraq after the federal government promised to keep the other 600 troops in the war-ravaged country until March 2021. </s> OTTAWA — Canada will lead a NATO training mission in Iraq until November 2020 after the federal government approved an extension to the operation.

News of the extension comes as Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and his counterparts from other NATO countries are in Brussels to discuss the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Canada has 850 military personnel in Iraq and the surrounding region involved in that effort against ISIL, including 250 who are training the Iraqi military as part of the NATO mission.

The extremist group remains a threat despite having lost of all its territory in Iraq and Syria, where it continues to conduct suicide bombings and other insurgent attacks.

Canada has been leading the NATO training mission since last July and was set to hand over the reins to another country at the end of this month, but will now lead until November 2020.

Brig.-Gen. Jennie Carignan, who upon promotion to major-general in the coming days will become Canada’s highest-ranked female army officer, will assume command of the NATO mission from Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin.

“Our message is clear: Canada is ready to lead and stand with our allies,” Sajjan said in a statement.

“We know that combating threats to global stability reinforces security and prosperity at home and this is why we are happy to work with NATO and continue our command role of NATO mission Iraq.”

The extension is only the latest involving the Canadian military in Iraq. The federal government previously promised to keep the other 600 troops in the region until March 2021.

Among them are special-forces soldiers and medical personnel in Iraq, trainers in Jordan and Lebanon and crews with transport planes in Kuwait.

While most of Canada’s effort in Iraq involves working with Iraqi government forces, officials for Iraq’s semi-independent Kurdish region have said they would also welcome Canadian military assistance.

Canadian special forces trained and advised the Kurdish peshmerga forces for three years in defending their region against ISIL before working together to free large swathes of territory from ISIL’s grasp.

But Canada suspended and then ended its work with the peshmerga after an outbreak of violence between them and Iraqi government forces in October 2017 over control of oil-rich territory in the north of the country.
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• Barbara Kay: Congratulations, women, on being eligible for the draft! </s> will continue to command a mission in for a second year until November 2020, announced Wednesday.

Jennie Carignan, who will soon be promoted to the rank of major-general, is to take over the command this fall of some 580 troops including 250 from Canada, and others from non- partners such as Australia, and

She has previously deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Golan Heights, and

The non-combat, advisory and training mission looks to bolster Iraq's and security capabilities, including in areas of medical aid, armoured vehicle maintenance, countering improvised and civil- planning.

NATO's advisory activities are centered in Baghdad, while training is carried out at Iraqi schools in the area, Taji and Besmaya.

The hope, outgoing Canadian said this month, is to make self-sustainable to try to avoid a repeat of 2014, when the Islamic State group seized large areas of and </s> (Hatha al-Youm | Iraq News )- ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Canada’s defense minister announced on Wednesday that the country would extend its current NATO training mission in Iraq until November 2020.The announcement comes as Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan is in Brussels, Belgium, where he is holding meetings with other defense ministers from NATO countries on the ongoing fight against the so-called Islamic State in the region.“Canada remains steadfast in our support to NATO,” a statement by the Canadian Armed Forces read.It added that its mission in Iraq is meant “to support stability and security in the Middle East” and “assist Iraq in strengthening its military schools and institutions and advancing Security Sector Reform.”The statement noted that the current head of the mission, Major-General Dany Fortin, would transfer command to Brigadier-General Jennie Carignan in the fall of 2019.Canada has been leading the NATO training mission in Iraq since July 2018, which reflects the efforts of United States President Donald Trump to have American allies bear more of the burden of common defense.The mission builds on past NATO efforts to train Iraqi forces as they work to prevent the re-emergence of the Islamic State and other terror groups.Earlier in June, a former Canadian commander in Iraq said the Islamic State continues to pose a threat in the Middle East and across the world despite its territorial defeat in Iraq and Syria.Brig.-Gen. Colin Keiver, who previously served as Commander Joint Task Force Impact between June 2018 to May 2019, made the comments in an interview with The Canadian Press.“Da’esh or ISIS in Iraq or northeast Syria has been defeated in the sense that they are no longer a quasi-state,” Keiver said, referring to the terror group’s former de-facto capitals in Iraq’s Mosul and Syria’s Raqqa.“They no longer hold any ground, but they are absolutely still alive and well in the background,” he added.Related Article: ISIS ‘alive and well’ in Iraq and other regions, Canadian general warnsDespite Baghdad having declared a military defeat against the terror group in 2017, the Islamic State continues to wreak havoc across parts of the country, especially in formerly liberated areas and even places it never controlled.Indeed, senior Kurdistan Region officials have often called on all sides to address the underlying causes which led to the rise of the Islamic State so its ideology can be effectively defeated once and for all.Sajjan reiterated that point in an interview with Kurdistan 24 in February ahead of meetings with other defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels.He underlined that the Global Coalition and its partners must analyze what caused the emergence of the Islamic State and address “some of those root causes as well.” </s> OTTAWA—Canada’s defence minister is calling for calmer heads to prevail as a war of words between the U.S. and Iran threatens to turn into a war of bullets and bombs. Such a conflict could easily spill over into Iraq and the surrounding region, where around 850 Canadian soldiers are deployed as part of the war against Daesh, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

“What we would like to see is de-escalation of this and bring it back from a military conversation and back into the diplomatic sphere,” Harjit Sajjan said in an interview with The Canadian Press from Brussels Thursday, where he was concluding two days of meetings with counterparts from across NATO. The dispute revolves around U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from an agreement his predecessor Barack Obama signed with Iran that limits Iran’s nuclear program in return for the lifting of sanctions. Iran has since been accused of attacking several oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman and is on the verge of stockpiling more uranium than the agreement allowed. The U.S. has imposed new sanctions and launched a cyberattack on an Iranian militia.

The two sides appeared close to blows last week after Iran shot down a U.S. military drone. Trump said he nearly ordered retaliatory strikes against the country but reversed course after advisers told him those would kill 150 Iranians.

Fears nonetheless persist over the potential for a conflict, which would almost certainly have ramifications across the broader Middle East — including in neighbouring Iraq, where Iran has a sizable influence. Part of that influence comes from Iran’s support for various Shia Muslim militia groups, which helped defeat the Sunni Daesh but owe their allegiance more to Tehran than Baghdad and could be a threat to western forces if war broke out. While Sajjan expressed confidence about the safety of Canadian military personnel in the region, “nonetheless, from the military side, we’ll be closely monitoring things to make sure our people remain safe.” The federal government this week announced Canada will lead a NATO training mission in Iraq until November 2020. That mission involves 250 Canadian Forces members who are working with Iraqi security forces.

Canada has another 600 troops in Iraq and across the region, including special-forces soldiers, medical personnel and helicopter crews in the country, air-transport crews in Kuwait and more trainers in Lebanon and Jordan. Those troops are scheduled to stay in the area until March 2021.

While most of Canada’s effort in Iraq involves working with Iraqi government forces, officials for Iraq’s semi-independent Kurdish region have said they would also welcome Canadian military assistance. Canadian special forces trained and advised the Kurdish peshmerga forces for three years in defending their region against Daesh before working together to free large swathes of territory from Daesh’s grasp. But Canada suspended and then ended its work with the peshmerga after an outbreak of violence between them and Iraqi government forces in October 2017 over control of oil-rich territory in the north of the country. While Canada continues to have a good relationship with the Iraqi Kurds, Sajjan said the Canadian military has shifted its focus to working with Iraqi government forces. “We worked with the (Kurds) very closely when it came to the defence of that region because that’s where it was needed,” he said. “Now the support is actually needed within the Mosul region and the capacity-building that we’re doing with (the Iraqi military). So the work that we’re doing is situation-dependent.”
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan announces that Canada will continue to command a NATO mission in Iraq for a second year until November 2020.