Canada extends anti-ISIS mission in Middle East by one year

The Liberal government has approved a slimmed-down extension of the Canadian military's contribution to the ongoing fight against the remnants of ISIS.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan issued a statement Tuesday announcing an extension of the seven-year-old campaign, known as Operation Impact.

The international effort to shore up the military capacity of Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon will see the involvement of Canadian troops for one more year.

Although the government has authorization to deploy up 850 soldiers in support of the anti-terrorism mission, Canada's current contribution in the coming year will be significantly smaller,involving 17 troops serving with NATOin an advisory capacity.NATOis helping to rebuild the country's defence ministry and its ability to standup to ISISmilitants.

Two Canadian C-130J transport planes and a headquarters in Kuwait will also provide ongoing support to the anti-ISIS coalition.

Canada'scontribution to the mission was substantially largerin previous years,when itled the NATO training mission in Baghdad and provided security for instructors from other countries.

Denmark took over command of the alliance mission in November of last year.

The Canadian military has separate training missions in Jordan and Lebanon involving a handful of personnel.

A Canadian special forces contingentbased in Erbilin northern Iraqwasconducting counter-terrorism training its status is unclear. The Department of National Defence rarely discusses special forces operations.

Operation Impactwas launched by the former Conservative government in 2014 after ISIS militants swept out of the chaos of the Syrian civil war and proceeded to capture a vast swath of territory in neighbouring Iraq.

The U.S. organized a global coalition to evict the extremists from both countries, using a combination of Iraqi and Kurdish forces and Western special forces.

Although Canadian commandos never served in Syria, they were instrumental in assisting Kurdish forces with the recapture of Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city.

ISIS was largely defeated on the battlefield over threeand a half years ago, but remnants of the extremist organization continue to conduct low-level terror campaigns throughout the region.

"Canada will remain a reliable partner in multinational operations around the world," Sajjan said.

"By renewing Operation IMPACT, we are reinforcing Canada's support to our NATO Allies and our partners in the Global Coalition, and continuing our important work in the Middle East."