TORONTO — Canadian soldiers opened fire on Islamic State group extremists in Iraq over the last week in what was apparently the first ground firefight between Western troops and ISIS.
Brig.-Gen. Michael Rouleau, commander of special operations command, said Monday the soldiers were visiting front-line positions with Kurdish peshmerga forces when they came under mortar and machine-gun fire. He said the Canadian soldiers fired back in self-defense.
The Canadian special forces soldiers, whose job is to train and advise the Iraqi military in their battle against the Islamic State group, were at the front to help plan an Iraqi operation. Rouleau said the Canadians used sniper fire and “neutralized” the machine gun and mortar without taking any casualties.
“My troops had completed a planning session with senior Iraqi leaders several kilometers behind the front lines,” Rouleau said. “When they moved forward to confirm the planning at the front lines in order to visualize what they had discussed over a map, they came under immediate and effective mortar and machine gun fire.”
The general said that while Canadian soldiers are not participating in active combat, they have the right to fire back if fired upon.