Canada's second of two bombing missions over Iraq likely killed ISIS militants, a Canadian commander said Thursday, as the terror group鈥檚 leader purportedly denounced U.S., Canada and other allies in a new audio recording.
Thirteen days into Canada's mission, Commander of Joint Task Force Iraq, Col. Daniel Constable, provided an update on the fight against Islamic State militants Thursday morning.
He said the coalition airstrike campaign is "having the desired effect."
There have been no reports of civilian casualties in Canada's two bombing missions, he said. However, ISIS likely took some casualties during Canada鈥檚 second strike, on Nov. 11 near Baiji, about 200 kilometres north of Baghdad.
The main target of that strike was a piece of artillery that was being used to fire at Iraqi Security Forces, Constable explained, adding that it is well-known that ISIS soldiers are also in the area, although the number of dead remains unclear.
The Canadian Forces also released a 30-second declassified video of that airstrike. In it, a truck is pulling the piece of artillery down a roadway before an 鈥淴鈥� appears on screen, over the target. A moment later, it explodes in a cloud of dust.
The update came on the same day as an audio recording, purportedly featuring ISIS leader Abu Bakr-al Baghdadi but not verified by 麻豆传媒, was posted online. The voice on the recording, which has English subtitles, says that ISIS will fight to the last man. It also makes threats against America, Canada, Europe and other allies.
In a statement, Canada鈥檚 Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney said the ISIS threat 鈥渃onfirms the need for vigilance against the global terror threat.
鈥淚 am proud of the Canadian Forces for their concerted efforts to degrade ISIL and maintain the security of Canadians,鈥� he said, adding that the government is 鈥渃ommitted to safeguarding Canada from terrorism by supporting security agencies in surveillance, detention, and arrest.鈥�
ISIS militants are moving more cautiously around Iraq and are "operating in a defensive manner," Constable said. For example, militants have had to extend their supply lines for weapons and reinforcements from Syria well into Iraq, because their resupply efforts are "under constant threat" of detection and attack from coalition planes.
Militants are also not able to manouevre in large numbers for fear of exposure, as larger targets are easier to detect and hit, Constable told reporters in a teleconference. Militants have also moved to hide larger pieces of equipment to counter the airstrikes, he said.
Coalition air missions are targeting ISIS equipment, including vehicles, weapons, and command-and-control nodes, he said.
While Canada鈥檚 CF-18s have only flown two bombing missions over the last 13 days, Canadian planes have flown 68 sorties over Iraq in total. That figure includes flights by the Aurora surveillance plane, which is gathering key intelligence, and the two Polaris refuelling planes, which are assisting planes from all coalition nations.
"We are indeed making an impact," Constable said.
What is clear is that ISIS is changing tactics amidst the bombing campaign, he said.
"They are hiding potential targets, and it's one of the reasons why there are fewer things to target on the ground," Constable said. "It's more difficult to identify targets because they are camouflaged."
