The Canadian Armed Forces have 鈥渘o plans鈥� to carry out missions from air bases in Turkey, the Department of National Defence said Friday, as the long-reluctant Turkish government joined the U.S.-led coalition campaign against the Islamic State.
DND said Friday in a statement that Canada鈥檚 roughly 600 personnel, six CF-18 Hornets fighter jets, two surveillance planes and a refuelling aircraft continue to be based in Kuwait.
鈥淥ur brave men and women of the CAF are providing critical support to the coalition effort,鈥� the statement said.
鈥淲e are well trained and we contribute in a significant manner to the coalition鈥檚 success in protecting Canadians, stopping the advance of ISIS and countering the global terrorist threat,鈥� DND added.
Defence Minister Jason Kenney welcomed Turkey to the mission, but reiterated that Canada will not increase its current contribution to the war against ISIS.
Turkey is now sending its own warplanes across its southern border into Syria, and top officials confirmed U.S. planes will also be allowed to use one of their airbases.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed Friday that Turkey had agreed to let the U.S. use Incirlik airbase for operations, but only "within a certain framework."
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said airstrikes Friday had "removed potential threats鈥� by hitting their targets with "100 per cent accuracy."
Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told The Associated Press Turkish airstrikes struck north of the village of Hawar al-Nahr, east of the Rai area and west of the town of Jarablous.
He said the airstrikes killed nine ISIS fighters, wounded 12 others and destroyed at least one ISIS vehicle and a heavy machine-gun.
A Turkish government statement said the airstrikes were approved Thursday after Islamic State militants fired at the Turkish military outpost from Syrian territory.
The airstrikes follow a suspected ISIS suicide bombing on Monday that killed 32 people in Suruc, a Turkish town near the Syrian border.
Unlike in Iraq, where Canada has participated in dozens of airstrikes, Canadian forces saw little action in Syria in the first few months after Parliament approved extending the mission.
In an update earlier this month, Navy Capt. Paul Forget said the Canadian Forces had only conducted three attacks against Syrian targets since the vote on March 30.
At the time, Forget said all airstrikes are assigned at the coalition headquarters in Qatar 鈥渢o various nations for a variety of reasons.鈥�
New Democrats were opposed extending the mission to Syria, arguing it would only strengthen Syrian President Bashar Assad鈥檚 ability to wage war on his own people.
With files from The Associated Press and The Canadian Press
