The death of Sgt. Andrew Doiron, who was shot by Kurdish forces in Iraq in March, was a 鈥渢ragic case of mistaken identity,鈥� a military investigation has concluded.
The results of two separate investigations released by the Department of National Defence on Tuesday also found that the Canadian soldiers who found themselves under Kurdish fire on March 6 did nothing wrong.
鈥淭he actions taken by the CANSOF operators, including by Sergeant Doiron, were correct and justified,鈥� according to a summary of the investigations.
The military said a 鈥渃onfluence of several unrelated events鈥� led to the friendly fire incident.
At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Canadian Special Operations Forces commander Brig.-Gen. Michael Rouleau said the Kurdish fighters battling Islamic State militants had asked for Canadians鈥� advice on defensive positions.
The plan was for Doiron鈥檚 detachment to visit several of those Kurdish positions near the frontline during the day and at nighttime on March 6. Doiron had communicated his plan to the Kurdish commanders and everything went well during the daytime visits.
But when Doiron and his team returned to the seventh 鈥� and last 鈥� Kurdish position that night, a Kurdish soldier opened fire.
Unbeknownst to Doiron and his team, the crew at position seven had changed shifts without informing the replacement soldiers that the Canadians would be returning around 11 p.m. that night, Rouleau said.
鈥業t was an accident鈥�
Other factors contributed to the deadly accident, Rouleau said, including fatigue, confusion and the fact that the Kurdish soldiers at that defensive position had been attacked by ISIS the night before.
That night, ISIS killed and wounded several Peshmerga troops.
As Doiron鈥檚 crew approached the Kurds, a pack of wild dogs started making a lot of noise, which is believed to have heightened the Kurdish fighters鈥� anxiety, Rouleau said.
He said Doiron instructed his crew to 鈥渟peak loudly and in English鈥� and he used the appropriate identification codes as the team approached.
Nevertheless, a Kurdish soldier fired on the Canadians, wounding Doiron immediately. That prompted more gunfire from the Kurdish side, Rouleau said.
The heavily redacted report doesn鈥檛 say what happened, other than Doiron 鈥済ot shot.鈥�
The Canadian Forces are also not revealing whether or not they spoke with the shooter.
Asked whether the Kurdish soldier who began firing on the Canadians will face any repercussions, Rouleau said that soldier 鈥渄id not wake up that morning hoping to kill a Canadian.
鈥淣othing could be further from the truth,鈥� Rouleau said. 鈥淚t is an accident, an error.鈥�
Three other Canadian soldiers were injured that night. One of them remains in Iraq, while two were flown back to Canada for further treatment, Rouleau said.
Doiron is the first Canadian soldier killed in the military operation against Islamic State militants in Iraq.
The military said Tuesday it has implemented 鈥渁dditional protocols when conducting similar activities at night鈥� in response to Doiron鈥檚 death.
The Canadians have been pulled back from the front lines, and if they do travel at night, they must be accompanied by a Kurdish soldier.
No Arabic spoken
Contrary to conflicting reports in the days following Doiron鈥檚 death, Rouleau said that the Canadian soldiers did not speak Arabic as they approached the Kurdish position that night.
Shortly after the shooting, a spokesperson for the Kurdish forces in Iraq told The Associated Press that the Canadians showed up unannounced and ignored an order to stay in their vehicle.
The spokesperson also said that when asked to identify themselves, the Canadians answered in Arabic, prompting confusion and gunfire.
That version of events was denied by the Canadian Forces.
Rouleau said Tuesday that Doiron was a 鈥渓eader among leaders鈥� who did everything right to ensure the safety of his team in Iraq. He and others used codes and communication techniques with the Kurds that had worked well for months.
Before arriving at the last Kurdish position on the night of March 6, Doiron even asked a Kurdish commander at a previous stop to call ahead and let his counterpart know that the Canadians would be arriving, Rouleau said.
However, Rouleau said the Canadian military doesn鈥檛 know if that call was 鈥減ut through definitively and if the commander on position seven received it.
鈥淲e just don鈥檛 know.鈥�
