The Minister of National Defence, Harjit Sajjan, issued the following statement yesterday about recent Canadian SOF operations in Iraq:

“I have been briefed that members of our Special Operations Forces recently assisted Kurdish Security Forces (KSF) in responding to a coordinated attack by ISIL forces in Northern Iraq.

“Although the attackers were able briefly to penetrate KSF defensive positions, our forces played a role in advising and assisting the KSF to successfully launch a counter attack and re-establish defensive lines. There were no Canadian Armed Forces casualties.

“These actions illustrate the valuable contribution our forces are making to the KSF and the fight against ISIL. All Canadians can rightfully take pride in the professionalism of our members and the work of the coalition.”