Canada will expand its military mission against ISIS militants by launching airstrikes against their positions in Syria as well as Iraq, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Tuesday. The move will make Canada the second NATO member country after the United States to attack ISIS positions in Syria, which also have been hit by aircraft from Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Harper also said Canada plans to extend its six-month mission by a year to the end of March 2016. The country has about 70 special-forces personnel operating in northern Iraq, and six Canadian jets are participating in U.S.-led bombing missions against IS targets in Iraq. Harper told legislators that Canada must strike at the Syrian power base of ISIS's fighters and much of its heavier equipment are moving freely across the Iraqi border into Syria, in part for better protection against our airstrikes. In our view, ISIS must cease to have any safe haven in Syria," he said.
