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Canadian fighter jets dropped bombs over Iraq late Sunday night, Iraqi time, Defense Minister Rob Nicholson announced in a statement from Ottawa.
It’s not clear how much damage the CF-18s caused. The military says it requires two days, until Tuesday, before it can tell Canadians what was achieved.
The air strikes by two CF-18 fighters are part of the U.S.-led coalition that is trying to beat back the advance of jihadi extremists in Iraq.
This is the first fighting that Canadians have done since Prime Minister Stephen Harper set the country on the course to war in Iraq this October and the Conservative-dominated House of Commons authorized a six-month aerial combat deployment to the Middle East.
The “strike demonstrates our government’s firm resolve to tackle the threat of terrorism and to stand with our allies against [Islamic State] atrocities against innocent women, children and men,” Defence Minister Rob Nicholson said in a statement.
Canadian government sources said the 230-kilogram, laser-guided bombs hit their intended targets but a damage assessment is not readily available yet.
The planes carried out a four-hour-long mission and were resupplied with fuel in the air by Canada’s Polaris refuelling aircraft.
All aircraft returned safely to Canada’s base of operations in Kuwait, where 600 Canadian Armed Forces members are now deployed to support the mission.
Agencies/Canadajournal
