Canada extends mission in Iraq to June

OTTAWA, Canada (Kurdistan24) - Canada is to continue training and advising Iraqi forces battling the Islamic State (IS) in Mosul until June.

Canadian Liberal government announced on Friday that Canada would remain as part of the coalition until the end of June to contribute to the fight against IS.

"There is nobody at this juncture that can really determine or predict exactly what will happen and how it would happen," said Gen. Jonathan Vance, Canada's chief of the defense staff.

"So this is a wise move that allows us to carry on," he added.

Some 200 Canadian special forces are currently in east Mosul, assisting Iraqi forces to battle the IS that has fiercely continued to fight the coalition.

This is a shift for Canadian forces that initially were assisting Kurds.

"The geography changed somewhat and the partners changed somewhat," Vance said. "That is, we went from mentoring, training, advising and assisting Kurds to other Iraqi security forces."

Mosul battle is expected to take several more weeks if not months and so Canada said it would reassess the situation on June 30 to update its decision.

While battling the terrorist group, Iraq is also dealing with internal conflicts as the sectarian war between Shia and Sunnis continues.

"It is clear that coalition efforts are having a real impact on the ground," Sajjan said in the press release.

Canada has sent hundreds of troops and has spent millions of dollars in foreign aid in Iraq since the summer of 2014 when the Islamic State (IS) first emerged as a threat.

Peshmerga fighters have been on the front lines against IS and Kurds are hosting millions of refugees in camps throughout their territory.

When Canadian soldiers first arrived in Kurdistan to help fight IS in 2014, they wore the Kurds’ distinctive red, white, and green flag on their uniforms next to the Canadian maple leaf.