Canada to extend air strikes against Daesh, may go into Syria

OTTAWA — Canadian air strikes against Daesh terror group in Iraq will be extended one year to March 2016 and may see sorties into Syria, the government said Tuesday.

But no ground combat troops would be deployed under the plan, which is to be debated in parliament Thursday.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper read a motion in the House outlining the mission add-on. With his Conservative majority, the motion is assured of passage.

The original military mission started in November with Canadian war planes joining US-led air strikes on Daesh jihadists.

Canada also deployed about 70 special forces troops to train Kurds in northern Iraq.

A clash mid-January in which the Canadians came under mortar and machine-gun fire while training Iraqi troops near the front lines, as well as the March 6 friendly fire death of a Canadian soldier, have underscored political divisions in Ottawa over the fight against Daesh.

The opposition has accused Harper of lying when he first outlined parameters of the mission to parliament in October, which were supposed to limit ground forces to a non-combat role.

But the prime minister has been unapologetic — backed by polling that shows a majority of Canadians support the mission in the aftermath of two attacks in Ottawa and rural Quebec the same month.