The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

Canadian air strikes in Syria proving difficult to conduct

The lack of allied forces on the ground in Syria is making it more difficult for Canadian warplanes to conduct attacks on Islamic extremists in that country.

Canadian jets have not conducted any attacks in Syria since their first bombing raid on April 8, the military confirmed Thursday.

Canadian officers say decisions on what targets should be hit are made by the senior leadership of the coalition involved in the campaign against the Islamic extremists. But Brig.-Gen. Dan Constable, who commands the Canadian Forces Joint Task Force Iraq, acknowledged Thursday that such bombing raids are more difficult since there are no allied troops on the ground in Syria to provide information.

Instead, details about what targets to attack have to be gathered from the air, by fighter pilots or crews from surveillance aircraft.

 

In Iraq, coalition air forces can rely on information from Iraqi soldiers.

“It’s a little bit more problematic building (information on) all those targets in Syria because we don’t have those Iraqi forces,” explained Constable. “That’s the difference between Iraq and Syria.”

Syria has been engulfed in a civil war for five years. Canada and other western nations will not deal with the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. The Assad regime has killed thousands of Syrian civilians and has been accused of using cluster bombs and chemical weapons.

But some of the main rebel forces fighting Assad are either aligned with al-Qaida, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) or have extremist Islamic views.

The Pentagon recently released new figures noting that ISIL forces have lost about 25 per cent to 30 per cent of the territory they seized in Iraq. The information, however, also showed that coalition airstrikes have not had the same effect in Syria, as ISIL has not given up much ground there.

ISIL recently started a new offensive in Iraq and overran the headquarters of an Iraqi Army brigade stationed northwest of Baghdad. It also captured three villages near the provincial capital of Ramadi.

But Constable noted that “there’s always going to be certain gains that are made and I think it speaks to the requirement to continue to identify those targets and continue to do the mission.”

Canadian aircraft have made seven flights over Syria, some of which were practice runs.

Last fall, the Conservative government committed Canada to the ongoing war in Iraq, paving the way for RCAF fighter jets to attack ISIL targets.

The government has now expanded that mission to include bombing targets in Syria. The original six-month mission will also be extended for another year and end in March 2016.

Military officers privately say they expect Canada’s involvement in the Iraq and Syria bombing campaign to continue beyond that. U.S. military and government officials say it will take at least three years to deal with ISIL.

The mission as currently envisioned will cost Canadian taxpayers $528 million by next March. That includes $122 million for the first six months and $406 million for the year-long extension.

Both the NDP and Liberals have opposed the extension of the mission. They have voiced concern that the Conservatives are committing Canada to another lengthy war and do not have a strategy for eventually withdrawing military personnel.

Defence Minister Jason Kenney has said the goal is to defeat ISIL.

There are more than 600 Canadian military personnel involved in the Iraq-Syria mission. Those include a small number of special forces in northern Iraq and aircrew in Kuwait who are supporting and operating six CF-18 fighter jets, two CP-140 Aurora reconnaissance aircraft and a CC-150 Polaris in-air refuelling tanker.

 

 

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