Canadian fighter jets have flown 68 sorties over northern Iraq since joining a U.S.-led coalition against Islamic militants there late last month, launching two strikes against targets, the Department of National Defence said Thursday.
Military officials were briefing the media following Tuesday's airstrike against an apparent artillery installation north of Baghdad belonging to fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIS or ISL. At the briefing, the military also released video of the airstrike.
That strike was carried out with a laser-guided munition fired by a Canadian CF-18 jet flying with other coalition forces in support of Iraqi security forces on the ground, the military said Tuesday.
Col. Daniel Constable told reporters Thursday that the CF-18 struck an artillery piece spotted in the tree line, where it was firing at Iraqi forces.
Six CF-18s arrived at a base in Kuwait on Oct. 30, along with two CP-140 Aurora surveillance planes and a refuelling plane. The 68 sorties over 13 days include missions by the Aurora planes, Constable said in the briefing.
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