XPost: can.politics, bc.politics, mtl.general   
   From: Panca@nyet.ca   
      
   THIS is what Harper just sacrificed two military people for - WITHIN Canada?   
   _________________________________________   
   The Canadian Press Posted: Nov 03, 2014   
      
   ISIS dump truck may have been target of first Canadian air strikes in Iraq   
      
   Canadians won't release list of targets, but U.S. officials have   
      
      
   The first strikes of Canada's air war over Iraq appear to have been aimed at   
   construction equipment belonging to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.   
      
   Although the military has been silent about what targets were bombed by two   
   CF-18s during Canada's first air raids of the war, the U.S. command overseeing   
   operations in the Gulf region released a list of the weekend bombing missions.   
      
   Government sources told CBC News the target that was hit was deemed to be of   
   strategic importance.   
      
   The only official Canadian acknowledgement came from Defence Minister Rob   
   Nicholson, who said Sunday's attacks took place in the area of Fallujah, a   
   militant stronghold about 71 kilometres west of Baghdad.   
      
   Nicholson wouldn't release details, but said more information would be   
   forthcoming at an Ottawa briefing on Tuesday — 48 hours after the mission.   
      
   However, U.S. Central Command, based in Tampa, Fla., said four strikes hit a   
   large ISIS unit in the vicinity where Canadian planes reportedly dropped their   
   laser-guided bombs.   
      
   The attack apparently destroyed five ISIS bulldozers and one ISIS dump truck   
   used to build obstructions and berms.   
      
   It is unclear whether Canadians carried out all of the strikes in the vicinity   
   of Fallujah or if aircraft from other coalition nations were involved.   
      
   No one at the Canadian task force headquarters was immediately available for   
   comment Monday night.   
   No mention of Canadian involvement   
      
   The U.S. military says a total of nine airstrikes took place in Iraq on Sunday,   
   using jets and drones. Interestingly, the news release from U.S. Central   
   Command neglected to mention Canada's involvement in air operations.   
      
   The Iraqi government lost control of Fallujah in early January after local   
   police were unable to hold back fighters from ISIS, also known as ISIL, in the   
   aftermath of the withdrawal of army units from Anbar province.   
      
   An offensive to retake the key region, which was the scene of some of the   
   heaviest fighting during the U.S. occupation, began in late September.   
      
   The battle, which has involved tanks and armoured vehicles, has ebbed and   
   flowed throughout October. There were reports in local media last week that as   
   many as 400 ISIS fighters had massed in the area, which has been repeatedly   
   bombed by coalition aircraft.   
      
   The construction equipment might have been used for constructing defensive   
   positions for militants.   
      
   A total of six CF-18 jet fighters, two CP-140 Aurora surveillance planes and   
   one C-150 refuelling jet are operating out of airfields at an undisclosed   
   location in Kuwait.   
      
   The warplanes receive their strike orders and targets from the U.S.-led   
   coalition and join aircraft from a number of different countries, including the   
   U.S., Britain, Australia and several Gulf states.   
      
   The Canadian contribution to the air campaign is mandated to last six months,   
   but is likely to be extended.   
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   ___________________________   
      
   (Maybe the Harper govenment knows of a new shipment of trucks and bulldozers   
   that ISIS has ordered?)    ヽ(´ー｀)ﾉ   
      
      
   	  Canada's forces face daunting mission against ISIS in Iraq   
              Should the West stop intervening in the Middle East?​   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)